Boys soccer: Reservoir wins county title on season's final day

A season's worth of jockeying for position came down to one night Thursday. And when the dust settled, Reservoir was the last one standing.

Thanks to a Gator victory over Wilde Lake, 4-0, and River Hill dropping a 2-1 decision to Atholton in overtime, Reservoir collected the first county title in program history.

At 9-2 in county play, Reservoir edged out the quartet of River Hill (8-3), Centennial (7-2-2), Atholton (7-3-1) and Marriotts Ridge (7-3-1).

"It's a big accomplishment for these guys, a testament to the work they've put forth this entire season," Reservoir coach Paul Linkins said. "This group is going to be remembered for getting that first one."

Courtesy of finishing as the county's top squad in the regular season, the Gators now advance to Tuesday's District championship game against the Anne Arundel county champion. The boys game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at River Hill.

To get there, Reservoir knew it needed a victory over the Wildecats, especially after losing a 1-0 decision to Marriotts Ridge on Tuesday.

That sense of urgency showed early on.

The Gators came out firing, getting their first goal just 14 minutes after the opening whistle. Javier Wardcantori was alone in front and found the net after Kyle Saunderson had played a long ball into the box.

Then, like a shark smelling blood in the water, Reservoir went for the kill.

Gibril Sheriff scored off an assist from Colin Bonner just 90 seconds after Wardcantori's goal, making it 2-0. Less than two minutes later, Sheriff scored again from Jimmy Rager to increase the lead to three.

"Today was all about working hard," Sheriff said. "I couldn't sleep just thinking about the game the other night. I knew I had to come out and do whatever I could for the team."

The scoring wasn't done for Sheriff, as he finished off his hat trick with 8:23 left before halftime. Vince Zometa picked up the assist on the play that made it 4-0.

Linkins called it the best half his team had played all season.

"It was just a great collective effort. They realized what this meant for them," he said.

Wilde Lake had its chances to get on the scoreboard in the final 40 minutes, but watched as ball after ball sailed high or wide. The Wildecats finish the regular season 5-7-2 and 4-6-1 in county play.

For River Hill, which came into the day tied with Reservoir for first, a slow start ultimately did the team in. Atholton had the run of play in the first 25 minutes and, thanks to a header by Matt Romeo off a corner kick by K.C. Hersey, staked itself to a 1-0 lead.

"You get that first one and everything seems to carry on from there," Atholton coach Roch DeFrances said. "That's a good team, quite possibly the best we've seen all year, so getting out in front was definitely important."

That one-goal cushion held up all the way until 13:59 remained in regulation when River Hill finally put itself on the board. Andrew Levy got on the finishing end of a ball bouncing around in the box after a save by Atholton goalie Kyle Forbes (11 saves) to tie the game at one.

What made the equalizer even more impressive was that the Hawks were playing down a man because of a red card midway through the second half.

In overtime, though, Atholton took advantage of its extra player. With 5:24 showing on the clock in the first overtime period, Emilio Altamirano found the net in transition off a feed from Jesse Burns for the game winner.

It was the second straight loss for the Hawks to close the regular season, spoiling its chance at the county title. Atholton, however, picked up its third straight victory for some valuable momentum heading into the playoffs.

"We kind of lost something in the second half there, but I told the guys right before overtime, 'You buckle down and win this and you are going to go into regionals with confidence and on a run,' " DeFrances said.

Marriotts Ridge and Centennial, which squared off Thursday night as well, ended up playing to a 1-1 tie. Max Yarosh had Centennial's score, while Amir Najib picked up the goal for Marriotts Ridge.

Box scores:

Reservoir 4, Wilde Lake 0

Goals: Re - Sheriff 3, Wardcantori.

Assists: Re - Bonner, Zometa, Rager, Saunderson.

Saves: Re - Dooley 2, Dearden 3; WL - Alligood 3, McNeel 1.

Half: 4-0 Re.

Atholton 2, River Hill 1 OT

Goals: A - Romeo, Altamirano; RH - Levy.

Assists: A - Hersey, Burns.

Saves: A - Forbes 11; RH - Voyton - 6.

Half: 1-0 A.

Centennial 1, Marriotts Ridge 1 2OT

Goals: C - Yarosh; MR - Najib.

Saves: C - Bicknell 4; MR - Shepherd 6.

Half: 0-0.

Glenelg 2, Howard 1 OT

Goals: G - Messina, Jacoby; Ho - Flynn.

Saves: G - Haussler 5, Caulfield 6; Ho - Spalding 12.

Mt. Hebron 2, Hammond 0

Goals: MH - Staedeli, Wright.

Assists: MH - Wright, Palin.

Saves: MH - Siahpoushan 2, Birus; Ha - Sandish 5.