Boys soccer: Reservoir maintains momentum with District V crown

The firsts just keep on coming for Reservoir.

Last week, courtesy of a victory over Wilde Lake on the final day of the regular season, the Gators captured the first county title in program history.

Then on Tuesday, Oct. 25, they added district champions to the list with a 1-0 win over Broadneck, the champion from Anne Arundel County.

Saad Memon finished off a feed from Colin Bonner midway through the first half, and that was all the offense Reservoir (11-2-1) needed to beat the Bruins at River Hill High School.

"It's all been really great … a testament to their hard work," Reservoir coach Paul Linkins said. "It's amazing to think that just a few years back we were that cellar dweller with zero wins. With that never-give-up attitude, we've come a long way."

For the Gators, which had finished 0-10 in county play as recently as 2006, this year's district title game showcased all the pieces that had made them the county's top team during the regular season.

The offense did its part early, and then the defense finished things off.

Bonner, who has been Reservoir's go-to guy all year, had a hand in the lone goal. He made a couple of nifty dribbles just across midfield and then played a long ball to Memon streaking down the right side.

"As soon as I got in the game, I knew I needed to run along the wings as hard as I could because it's a wide field," Memon said. "There's a lot of space. So that's what I did, and Colin played me a really good ball. I got to it, took a touch to beat one guy and then fired it toward goal."

Memon's shot deflected off a Broadneck defender and into the right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

From there, Broadneck simply couldn't get anything going. Reservoir's attack kept pressuring and when the Bruins did get the ball, the Gators' defense kept everything out of the box.

"They're just really organized defensively and understand the importance of getting behind the ball," Broadneck coach Sean Tettemer said after a game in which his team managed just three shots on goal. "Once you try to beat somebody, there is always somebody there for cover."

Ryan Dooley finished with three saves in net for the Gators, while Broadneck's Cody Niedermeier had six.

Heading into the playoffs, Linkins said he got exactly what he hoped he would from his team.

"It was really a game where you don't know which way the guys are going to go, and I thought they responded very well," Linkins said. "We finally put together that full game we were looking for, and that's a great momentum builder for playoffs."