Reservoir field hockey 'up for the challenge' after convincing win over Howard | Howard County sports roundup
Sep. 9—Reservoir knows this season will be an uphill battle, but the Gators' field hockey team is welcoming the task.
Competing in Howard County's talented Division A this fall, the Gators aren't expected to be one of the top teams, as the county's coaches believe River Hill, Glenelg and Marriotts Ridge will once again be the best squads in Division A. But Reservoir coach Megan Maloney thinks her squad can surprise the county this fall, and the Gators' 4-0 victory over host Howard on Wednesday was the first step.
"Our saying this year is 'why not us?'" said Maloney. "I feel like we're always the underdog. Other teams don't see us as a threat. ... With the talent we have this year, we're up for the challenge from those top-tier teams."
"We want to build this program and make it big," said Reservoir junior captain Sarah Weitzman, who led the Gators with three assists. "This is our year. We have some seniors graduating, so we're going to go [all out]."
Reservoir (1-0) drew first blood with a goal less than five minutes into the road contest. The Gators earned a penalty corner, Weitzman flicked the ball into the circle and junior Bella Pereira deflected it into the cage.
All four of Reservoir's goals came off corners, and Maloney said capitalizing on those opportunities was the team's main emphasis heading into this season.
"One of my biggest things from last season was for us to be better at executing corners," Maloney said. "Clearly that improvement was shown tonight."
About 15 minutes later, Weitzman and Pereira connected once again for a goal that was a carbon copy of their first score.
"All summer we went out and practiced," Weitzman said. "We wanted to work hard on corners to prepare for the season."
Weitzman registered her third assist with a few minutes left in the third period, accurately shifting the insert to senior Sophie Pereira, who fired her shot from the top of the circle past Howard's goalkeeper.
Sophie Pereira then assisted the Gators' final goal midway through the fourth quarter, with junior Courtney Johnson finding the back of the cage. The Pereira sisters combined for three goals and an assist, and Maloney said they're vital to the team's success this fall.
"I yell 'sister, sister' all the time. I want them to work together," Maloney said. "Being sisters, that's a dynamic a lot of teams don't have. They're able to know what each other is going to do before they even do it. They have their moments by themselves, but also when they're able to work together, it's a great thing."
Goalie Maggie Frisvold pitched a shutout in her first varsity start, tallying three saves.
Reservoir hosts Glenelg (1-0) on Friday, while Howard (0-1) plays at defending county-champion River Hill (2-1).
Reservoir 4, Howard 0
Goals: Re — Bella Pereira 2, Sophie Pereira, Courtney Johnson.
Assists: Re — Sarah Weitzman 3, S. Pereira.
Halftime: 2-0, Re.
Records: Re 1-0; Ho 0-1.
This story will be updated with a photo gallery.
OTHER FIELD HOCKEY SCORES:
River Hill 7, Mt. Hebron 3
Maddie Vasilios, Claire Slade and Laura Mason all scored two goals and had one assist to lead the defending county champion Hawks to victory. Puja Nanjappa also chipped in with a goal for the visiting Hawks in their first county win of the season.
Goals: RH — Claire Slade 2, Laura Mason 2, Maddie Vasilios 2, Puja Nanjappa; MH — P. Blitzer 2, S. Aoile.
Assists: RH — Slade, Mason, Vasilios, Jannah Nassar; MH — N. Machivar, Blitzer.
Saves: RH — Jocelyn Baker 5, Mayzie Connelly 1; MH — Pitter 8.
Halftime: 4-2, RH.
Records: RH 2-1; MH 0-2.
Marriotts Ridge 6, Centennial 0
Natalie Freeman and Maisy Clevenger each scored two goals to lead the host Mustangs to the season-opening triumph. Freeman was playing in her first game with the Mustangs after transferring from Garrison Forest. Amanda Windsor tallied 10 saves to pitch the shutout.
Goals: MR — Natalie Freeman 2, Maisy Clevenger 2, Samantha Perry, Sophia Baxter.
Assists: MR — Emi Moran, Perry.
Saves: MR — Amanda Windsor 10.
Halftime: 4-0, MR.
Records: MR 1-0; C 0-1.
Atholton 8, Wilde Lake 0
In a matchup between two of the top teams in Division B, the visiting Raiders earned the blowout win over the Wildecats. Bella Konrad led Atholton with a hat trick and two assists.
Goals: A — Bella Konrad 3, Ashlyn Donaldson 2, Asha Derstine, Avery Doyle, Kendall Dean.
Assists: A — Konrad 2, Emily Schmeckpeper.
Records: A 2-0; WL 1-1.
Hammond 4, Oakland Mills 0
The host Golden Bears earned the season-opening victory over the Scorpions. Marlee Hunter registered a hat trick in the win.
Goals: Ha — Marlee Hunter 3, Brianna Donato.
Assists: Ha — Charlotte Lamp, Izabell Stalnaker.
Halftime: 2-0, Ha.
BOYS GOLF:
Howard 89, Oakland Mills 48 (Timbers at Troy)
The Lions played their first complete match of the fall, after having a match shortened due to Lightning and another rained out, and produced plenty of highlights. Jai Sheth made an eagle on the second hole on his way to a career-best score of 29 points, which is equivalent to two-under par. He was joined with strong rounds from Dev Sheth (25 points) and Gregory Heiger of (20).
Oakland Mills was led by 19 points from Alex Tamai.
Ho (2-0): Jai Sheth 29, Dev Sheth 25, Heiger 20, Menon 15.
OM (1-2): Tamai 19, Fernandez 13, Franklin 9, Cowell 7.
River Hill 89, Atholton 33
It was a balanced effort for the Hawks, with Collin Reagan leading the way with 24 points and then being followed closely behind by Cole Spies and Benjamin Siriboury with 23 points apiece.
RH (3-0): Reagan 24, Siriboury 23, Spies 23, Sandhu 19.
A (1-2): Christiansen 10, Cho 10, McKellar 8, Peterson 5.
Hammond 48, Wilde Lake 35
Connor Walls (17 points) led a balanced effort for the Golden Bears on the way to the victory. Henry Hilger scored a match-best 21 points for the Wildecats in the loss.
Ha (1-1): C. Walls 17, Martin 14, M. Walls 10 Ridgelo 7.
WL (0-3): Hilger 21, Smith 10, Parker 3, Hoy 1.
GIRLS GOLF:
Oakland Mills 34, Howard 0
Chloe Koh scored a team-high 13 points to lead the Scorpions to their first win.
OM (1-1-1): Koh 13, Fernandez 11, Hoffman 10.
Ho (0-2): N/A.
River Hill 47, Atholton 21 (Hobbits Glen)
Helen Yeung scored a match-best 26 points to help the Hawks stay undefeated.
RH (3-0): Yeung 26, Herrera 13, Shin 5, Dhaliwal 3.
A (1-1-1): Lee 14, Shah 5, Khorkejar 1, Kim 1.
Wilde Lake 77, Hammond 1 (Willow Springs)
The Wildecats exploded for a girls program-record team total, as Shreya Suresh set the pace with a career-high 23 points. Clare Bowen (20 points) and Jane Mhonda (19) also had huge efforts. Laurel Sands rounded out the scoring with 15 points.
WL (2-1): Suresh 23, Bowen 20, Mhonda 19, Sands 15.
Ha (0-2): Gisele Mathew 1.
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SATURDAY, SEPT. 4
BOYS SOCCER:
Meade 1, Hammond 1 (Meade wins in penalty kicks)
Hammond 1, Pikesville 0
After losing in PKs to Meade earlier in the day, the Golden Bears (1-1) came back to shut out Pikesville for their first win of the season.
River Hill 6, Chesapeake 0
The Hawks scored six first-half goals en route to the season-opening triumph. Jack Nelson registered a hat trick, and Antonio Paulino chipped in with two goals.
Goals: RH — Jack Nelson 3, Antonio Paulino 2, Aidan Edmonds.
Assists: RH — Kian Mbi, Aidan Edmonds, Gerry Montemayor.
Saves: RH — Glass 2, Ghoseiri 2; Ch — Maxx Gray 9.
Halftime: 6-0, RH.
Record: RH 1-0.
GIRLS SOCCER:
Marriotts Ridge 3, Mercy 1
Behind Giavana Liberto's two goals, the Mustangs defeated one of the top teams in the Baltimore region. In The Baltimore Sun's preseason poll, Mercy was ranked No. 1 and Marriotts Ridge was ranked No. 10.
After a scoreless first half, Liberto, a junior, headed the ball into the upper-right corner of the net after teammate Kate Hennigan stole the ball off of the feet of a Mercy defender. Later, Marriotts Ridge midfielder Megan Wagner served a high corner-kick pass into Liberto, who headed the ball into the net. Marriotts Ridge's third goal was scored when Mustangs defender Bridget Ford passed the ball to Wagner, who fired a high and accurate shot open the head of Mercy's goalkeeper.
Goals: MR — Giavana Liberto 2, Megan Wagner; Me — Asia Minor.
Assists: MR — Kate Hennigan, Megan Wagner, Bridget Ford.
Saves: MR — Caroline Albert 9.
Halftime: 0-0.
Marriotts Ridge 2, Crofton 0
In the second game of the tournament, the Mustangs defeated Crofton behind two goals from Anna Henderickson. The game was scoreless until the final 15 minutes, when Liberto beat a Crofton defender to find Henderickson wide open on the opposite side of the final third. The sophomore then drippled past another defender to score her first goal of the season. Minutes later, Hendrickson scored from 18 yards out off an assist from Liberto.
Goals: MR — Anna Henderickson 2.
Assists: MR — Giavana Liberto 2.
Saves: MR — Caroline Albert 0. Cr — Abby Makela 5.
Halftime: 0-0.
Record: MR 2-0.
Crofton 1, River Hill 0
Hereford 2, Reservoir 1
Reservoir 2, Manchester Valley 1
After losing to Hereford in the first game of the tournament, the Gators (1-1) defeated the Mustangs 2-1.
FIELD HOCKEY:
River Hill 4, Kent Island 3
Broadneck 1, River Hill 0
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY:
Brunswick Invitational
Team results: 10. Glenelg, 249; 14. Oakland Mills, 412.
Individual results: 27. Michael Lau, 21:56.
Hood College Invitational
Team results: 4. Reservoir, 117; 9. Centennial, 234; 11. Howard, 257.
Individual results: 7. Will Chapman, Reservoir, 17:45; 11. Kidus Zeleke, Reservoir, 18:06; 18. Arjun Banerjee, Reservoir, 18:42; 27. Kyle Reardon, Howard, 19:01.
Interstate Classic
The Raiders, led by Zachary Shord and Ethan Mulcahy, finished third at the Interstate Classic.
Team results: 3. Atholton, 63.
Individual results: 3. Zachary Shord, Atholton, 16:45; 4. Ethan Mulcahy, Atholton, 16:55.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY:
Brunswick Invitational
The Gladiators, led by Ava Rivera, placed third at the Brunswick "Zumbach" Invitational.
Team results: 3. Glenelg, 89.
Individual results: 13. Ava Rivera, Glenelg, 25:31.
Hood College Invitational
Team results: 5. Reservoir, 155; 12. Centennial, 262; 14. Howard, 305.
Individual results: 11. Leilah Clark, Reservoir, 22:13; 26. Varsha Makkapati, Centennial, 23:39; 28. Casey Moquin, Reservoir, 23:48.
Interstate Classic
The Raiders, led by Gabriella Shord, won the Interstate Classic. Four Atholton harriers placed inside the top 10 to win the gold medal.
Team results: 1. Atholton, 36.
Individual results: 3. Gabriella Shord, Atholton, 20:22; 6. Chiara Sforza, Atholton, 20:48; 8. Delaney Hammill, Atholton, 21:34; 9. Grace Rua, Atholton, 21:36.
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