Reservoir began its campaign to defend its Class 3A state champion with at 3-0 win over Northeast of Anne Arundel County.
Amy Armstrong, Amanda Jackson and Paola Rosa all scored in the first half to set Northeast on its heels in the opening round of the East Region playoffs.
Michelle Viegas had an assist on Jackson's goal and a second on Rosa's.
"It was pretty lopsided. By my count, the Northeast keeper had 19 saves," said Reservoir coach Josh Sullivan, whose team won the school's first state soccer title in 2010. "We were able to have a lot of quality minutes out of the whole team in the second half. It was a good team effort."
Armstrong scored on a rebound shot nine minutes into the game to get Reservoir on the scoreboard.
Eight minutes later, Viegas sent a ball through Northeast's flat back defense and Jackson touched into the net. Viegas fed Rosa a similar pass for her score with 13 minutes left until halftime.
Reservoir will play No. 2 seed Centennial on Nov. 1 in the second round of the regional tournament. When they met earlier in the season, in September, Centennial won, 1-0.
"It should be a good game. Last time they came out and dominated us in the first half but in the second we turned it around. Both teams are probably considerably different now. I know they've had an incredible season," Sullivan said about the pending matchup.
While Reservoir (6-8 overall) has struggled most of the season with injuries and regrouping after graduation losses, Centennial has put up an impressive 12-1-2 overall record.
Other playoff games
In Class 3A, Howard ended Wilde Lake's postseason with a 2-1 win at Wilde Lake.
Taylor Gant scored in the first half on an assist by Caitlyn Whitford. Near the end of the second half, Howard was "awarded a questionable" penalty kick and Carli Sokoloski scored, said Howard coach Nick Zaron.
Howard now travels to Worcester County to play Stephen Decatur, seeded third in the tournament.
Howard is seeded 11th. The top team in the region is River Hill; the top four teams are seeded based on records and the remaining teams are seeded by a random drawing.
Wilde Lake junior midfielder Maria Pascale had scored in the first few minutes of the game but her goal was called back. "I'm not sure why it was disallowed," said coach Robin Sawyer.
Howard scored the next two goals before Gillian Sawyer, with her 52nd career goal and her eighth this season, cut the margin.
Wilde Lake rallied late in the game but Howard's defense held.
"We came back pretty well. We dominated the last 10 or 15 minutes but couldn't get the equalizer," said Sawyer, whose team finished the season with a 2-8-1 county mark and a 2-10-1 overall record.
Howard keeper Cassidy Burns came up with a big save on a penalty kick late in the game.
Wilde Lake keeper Julia Crowe had eight saves, including a one-on-one in the last five minutes.
Atholton has struggled to score this season but that was not a problem in a 6-0 over Hammond in the first round.
Atholton had 23 shots on goal with Sarah Renehan, Katrina Macadoff and Jenna Brewer each scoring two goals. Desiree Bodziony (two), Macadoff, Sarah Benecky and Renehan had assists.
Darcy Bodziony had three saves in the goal for Atholton.
Mt. Hebron advances in the playoffs after a 3-1 win over Annapolis Friday night. Susie Halper, Kelsi Folch and Nia Crump scored for the Vikings. Kelly Richards had two assists in the win.
Mt. Hebron plays at J.M. Bennett on Nov. 1.
"Our game last night was a little disappointing from the finishing perspective," said Mt. Hebron coach Tim Deppen. "It could have easily been 6 or 7 to 1. We had a lot of really great opportunities offensively.
"Our defense did a great job of stepping up and stopping any possible transition from Annapolis," he added. "We played most of the game on their half of the field. It's hard to pick out a standout performance because the whole team did a really nice job, but Susie Halper and Kelly Richards were fantastic up top. Kelsi Folch and Jen Giles were amazing in the center mid and Jenna and Lindsey Keyser (outside backs) and Jessie Czulewicz and Nia Crump (sweeper/stopper) were strong and aggressive."
Class 2A
All Class 2A schools —Oakland Mills, Marriotts Ridge, Long Reach and Glenelg — had first-round byes today.
On Nov. 1, No. 2 seed Glenelg will host Long Reach, Oakland Mills will host Loch Raven and No. 3 seed Marriotts Ridge hosts Owings Mills.