Coccio scores in OT, helps Reservoir capture Class 3A state crown

Reservoir boys soccer coach Paul Linkins said that he and Gators girls coach Josh Sullivan made a concerted effort this season to unify Reservoir’s soccer programs.

So it was only right for the boys squad to duplicate the success of their counterparts.

Twenty four hours prior to the Gators’ Class 3A state title matchup with Northern-Calvert County, Sullivan led his girls to the 3A state title with a 1-0 win over Huntingtown at UMBC.

On Friday afternoon, Reservoir knocked off the Patriots, 1-0, in overtime to claim the school’s first boys soccer title.

“Josh and I sat down and we were like, ‘what are we going to do?,’ so we did everything as a program,“ Linkins said. “We started doing community service as a program, we were [playing] laser tag and pasta dinners together…just to bring us together and not be two seperate entities.”

He added: “I think this pay off because they are out there supporting us and we support them.  The past two days have been like, ‘well the girls have done it, now it’s your turn. You can’t let them down, you gotta finish what they have already done.'”

Senior defender Ryan Konstanzer threw-in a long toss that forward Colin Bonner flicked over to senior Jake Coccio, who headed-in the ball into the back of the net in overtime.

Konstanzer’s throw-ins have become an integral part of the Gators’ offense.  He assisted on two goals off of throw-ins in Reservoir’s 3-0 victory over Linganore in the 3A semifinals last weekend.

“As soon as I saw [the ball] go out, I had that feeling. I knew something was going to happen,” said Konstanzer.  “I got it over and I heard everybody cheering.”

“We saw them play the Linganore game when they scored two goals off throws,” Northern coach John Rossi said. “We practiced it yesterday. We talked about it. We defended just like we would a corner kick. It’s a dangerous weapon.”

Both teams had great opportunities to score in regulation but could not finish. 

Late in the first half, Reservoir’s Nick Barnett sent in a through ball that went past two Patriot defenders and found the foot of Evan Heim.  Heim shot the ball but Northern goalie Ryan Welp (seven saves) made a point-blank, diving stop.

Patriots junior midfielder Andrew Lantz had a run at the goal but fired the ball off the crossbar early in the second half.

During their championship run, the Gators knocked off Wilde Lake and River Hill in the 3A East Regionals after losing to each of those teams during the year.

Reservoir’s defense allowed just two goals in five games and goalie Michael Lombard (four saves) came up big with timely blocks.

The Gators, who have sported blonde mohawks throughout the playoffs to show its team solidarity, began to gel at the right time. Reservoir had gone 2-3-1 in the last six games of the Howard County regular season before postseason play began.

“We definitely had a tough stretch of a week when we played the top four teams [in the league] and alot of us were injured but we bonded and became stronger,” said Heim.  “We felt what it was like to lose and we never wanted to feel that feeling again. It was horrible.”

Reservoir doesn’t have to worry about that losing feeling after finishing its season with a win and a state title.

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