Perennial also-rans, Weston captured the first state title in program history yesterday with a 2-0 win over Central champ Douglas at Worcester State College.

“Honestly, this only started to seem possible like three days ago,’’ said coach Renato Capobianco. “It wasn’t until after we took the North sectional that we began thinking, ‘Why not us?’ Our goal hadn’t been to win state - I know that sounds backwards but it was such a huge task. Who could imagine?’’

A state championship trophy wasn’t the only welcome surprise for Capobianco. Nobody anticipated the stellar play of senior goalkeeper and first-year player Duncan Van Nest. Van Nest described himself as a “safety net,’’ but proved to be a priceless insurance policy.

Van Nest began the season as a reserve. But when starter Hunt Batter suffered a concussion midway through the season, the imposing 6-foot-5-inch goalie stepped in. Six playoff wins - and five shutouts - later, the results speak for themselves.

“It’s pretty unbelievable,’’ said Van Nest. “I didn’t even dream something like this. I guess I am glad I decided to play.’’

Tentative at the start, Weston (15-2-6) relied heavily on Van Nest. Tested early and often, he notched nine saves, including a brilliant deflection in the game’s ninth minute. Van Nest needed every inch of his lengthy frame to turn back an attempt by Douglas forward Fred Willard.

The Wildcats took a 1-0 advantage during the 35th minute. Junior midfielder Jonathan Silverberg, on an assist from Peter Wynant, beat Douglas goalkeeper Jack Blatchford from 17 yards out.

Douglas’s best chance for a second-half equalizer came in the 50th minute. Willard received a breakaway pass from sophomore Major Dorfman. After a momentary stumble, Weston defender David Nahigian broke up the attempt with a slide tackle.

In the 65th minute, Weston reserve forward Chason Timko padded the Wildcat lead.

MIAA Division 2 final Concord-Carlisle 1, Palmer 0 - It seemed like a matter of when, not if, the Concord-Carlisle soccer team would score a goal.

Finally, after 69 minutes of peppering the net, a fortunate bounce and the opportunism of Will Toczylowski gave the Patriots the goal they needed to beat Palmer, 1-0, and capture the title at Worcester State.

“It was a scramble and I just dove for it and luckily it went in,’’ said Toczylowski. “This is the greatest feeling of my life.’’

Concord-Carlisle came out of the gate attacking and putting pressure on the Palmer defense, but had nothing to show for it and frustration was settling in.

“The message at halftime was relax, have patience, and believe it’s going to come,’’ said C-C coach Ray Pavlik. “The irony is you can shoot and shoot and it’s some scrappy goal at the end that gets it.’’

A corner kick by Sam Atwood was launched into a pack in the box, where the ball squirted loose. Keeper Steve Swiatlowski (13 saves) came out and challenged with a slide, but Toczylowski was able to get a foot on it and tap home the winner with just 11:54 remaining.

Palmer struggled on offense all afternoon and couldn’t muster anything over the final minutes, giving the Patriots their second title in three years.

Globe correspondent Nick French contributed to this report