About two minutes into sudden death overtime between Reservoir and Wilde Lake Friday night, Gators senior captain Kylie Toler earned a free kick centered right outside the Wildecats 18-yard box.
Toler looked at teammate and first-year varsity member Kennedy Hawkins and told the sophomore to stay ready.
Wilde Lake – concerned with the 20-yard shot on frame – left Hawkins open alongside the wall. Toler slyly played the ball short to Hawkins, who turned, got a simple touch on the pass and placed it far corner for the golden goal and 1-0 win.
“[Toler] was just like, ‘Ken be ready, it’s coming to you,’ and I was ready. And I just a did nice little touch and it went in,” Hawkins recalled. “It feels really good. I think just by coming in, it shows that I got the chance that I’ve always wanted to be on varsity and I think by showing the rest of my teammates, it just gives me more confidence for the rest of the season and just making a big impact on big games like this.”
Hawkins finished a game that was dominated by Reservoir who possessed the ball for the majority of the match and out-shot the Wildecats 20-3 in the game – while keeping Wilde Lake without an attempt on frame for the last 45 minutes.
“So that’s sort of been our theme this year,” said Gators coach Phil Ranker, whose team took its first loss of the season Tuesday against Mt. Hebron, 2-1. “Hebron was the same way. They got their two goals off of set pieces – a [penalty kick] and a set piece… So we’ve been working on offense and finishing, and we will continue to work on it because we do a really good job in the midfield. Our midfielders are studs and they set things up, and once we figure out how to connect that last third of the field then we’ll be really good. That’s kind of the missing piece right now.”
Reservoir earned seven shots on Wilde Lake keeper Jenna Hutchison in the first half, with its best opportunity coming with about 15 minutes left in the period. Off a corner kick by Cassidy Pham, which was played perfectly around the near side of the six, Blair Vant Hoff narrowly put the Gators up 1-0, but her header careened just off the cross bar and out of play.
The Wildecats tallied all three of their shots in the opening 40 minutes, but two attempts nearly went in.
Sahar Zoghi sent a long and high lofted attempt toward Reservoir’s goal, which bounced off the top of the cross bar and back into play where the Gators were able to clear.
“We definitely need to make some adjustments of where we’re aiming our passes,” said Wilde Lake coach Megan Shea. “I know their offense was just so strong that a lot of times we were just trying to, you know, keep it away from our goal so we were kind of going without a purpose. So we definitely need to stick to more of our game plan that we talk about throughout the game rather than just start that way."
Reservoir keeper Janie Romer (two saves) made an excellent diving stop on the ensuing shot, which ultimately preserved the tie. Wildecats sophomore Julianna Bonner beat her defender and found herself open down the far sideline. She rocketed a shot headed toward the far corner of the net, but Romer used all of her 5-foot, 10-inch frame and got her finger tips on the low struck ball for the save.
The following 40 minutes was all Gators. It took about 15 minutes for Reservoir to register its first shot of the period, but after that point the Gators tallied 11 attempts on target and played the last 20 minutes mostly on Wilde Lake’s defensive third of the field.
Hutchison played huge in net despite the constant pressure, coming out and cleaning up any passes or crosses put through the box and handling any long-ranged shots with ease. She finished with 14 saves throughout the contest – nine of which came in the second half.
“Our defense definitely weathered the storm tonight and I think they did a really good job of holding strong for the full 90 minutes,” Shea said. “I told them they should be proud of themselves. They hung in there with one of the top teams in the county for over 90 minutes and it was just a simple mental mistake that we made.”
After maintaining the scoreless draw after the 80 minutes, the game headed into a 10 minute golden goal overtime.
Mirroring the second half, the action was played on Wilde Lake’s defensive end, with the Gators putting a shot on Hutchison within the first minute of extra time. But it wasn’t until Toler came rushing through the middle of the defense, getting tripped up atop of the box, before Reservoir got its best opportunity of the night.
Toler immediately eyed Hawkins and assisted the sophomore on the game-winner.
“I discretely asked [Toler] to do that,” Ranker said of the final play of the game. “I walked up the sideline and said, ‘Hey play it to Kennedy if they don’t cover her.’ They had like six on the wall. Leah [Simmons] was on the outside and she was covered but they didn’t cover Kennedy. [But] [Toler] did just tell me she was going to do it any way even if I didn’t tell her to and I believe her, she’s a phenomenal player. I’m sure she would have thought of that. We have not practiced that play no.”
Despite being called up to varsity just this season, Hawkins has played a huge role up top for the Gators, scoring in the game against the Vikings as well.
“The thing that impressed me the most on that was she knew she was open and she didn’t creep offside, anticipating that she was going to get the ball,” Ranker said of Hawkins on the game-winning goal. “She scored against Hebron last game too, and the funny thing was she started on JV. I told her you’re staying on JV because I need another striker/outside mid, and she said well I play striker for my club team. So I gave her a look and she showed that she belonged and obviously, has been a huge asset for our team this year.”
After losing to Mt. Hebron Tuesday, Ranker said Friday’s win was “hugely important” for his team. The Gators next match is home against Oakland Mills on Tuesday.
“Hebron is a good team. Wilde Lake is a good team and told them we were picked to be one of the top teams and you don’t get to the top unless you beat the teams you are expected to beat I guess, even though every game is a tough game,” Ranker added. “Wilde Lake, I mean, they got a couple individual studs, obviously Jenna is a beast in goal and any goal you get on her you should be appreciative that you got one by her. So very happy that we came in here, Friday night, exciting atmosphere, away game, tough opponent and found a way to get it done.”
As for the Wildecats, they are looking to regroup and come up with their second county win of the season Tuesday when they take on Marriotts Ridge at home.
Reservoir (3-1-1, 2-1) 1, Wilde Lake (1-2, 1-1) 0 (OT) (Friday, Sept. 16)
Goals: Re – Hawkins.
Assists: Re – Toler.
Saves: Re – Romer 2; WL – Hutchison 14
Halftime: 0-0.
Around the league:
Howard (2-2, 1-1) 1, Centennial (4-1, 1-1) 0 (Friday, Sept. 16)
In the other Friday night matchup, the Lions ended their two-game losing streak and earned their first county win of the season by handing the hosting Eagles their first loss of the season.
Centennial dominated much of the game and got numerous chances – two of which could have changed the course of the game – but ultimately despite putting 28 shots on net, the Eagles could not get one to go.
Centennial had one goal called back midway through the first half after the referee called an off side during a scramble near the goal line.
Howard’s defense played tough, blocking numerous shots inside the six-yard box and even saved a potential goal, heading out the shot from off the goal line.
Lions sophomore goalkeeper Mya McConnnell played excellent in net, totaling 15 saves in the shut-out win, while also saving a shot from point-blank range in the first half to keep the game scoreless heading into the break.
“When it comes to scoring goals, I feel we are so close so often that it has to start falling out way soon,” said Centennial coach Steven Baxter.
Howard totaled just nine shots on goal, with most of its attempts coming from outside the 18-yard box. However, the Lions slipped in their goal off a corner kick about five minutes in to the second half of play. The nicely played ball bounced around the box, with the Eagles having trouble clearing their zone. Finally, the ball found the foot of junior defender Julia Schmidt who knocked in the go-ahead score. It was the first goal Centennial’s defense had let up all season.
Although the Eagles dominated most of the first 30 minutes, Howard had a good stretch of play remaining in the half. McConnell and the Lions defense remained firm and pulled out the 1-0 victory.
“Second half after Howard scored we started dominating play again and ended up with 28 shots total and just couldn’t score,” Baxter said. “Howard did a good job defending, blocking shots, and their keeper made some great saves. So I give them credit for that, but this game result is really all about our lack of finishing. It really shouldn’t have been close. With the ball in their box so much it is hard to believe, but that is soccer.”
Centennial is back on the field against River Hill Tuesday, while Howard wait nearly a week before getting back on the field. The Lions have a rematch of an early season game against Hammond on Thursday, Sept. 22.
Goals: Ho – Schmidt.
Saves: Ho – McConnell 15; C – Mcvicker 3, Bilger 1.
Halftime: 0-0.