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Reservoir forward Stephanie Zaycer wanted to give coach Josh Sullivan a piece of her mind.

Well, not exactly. But she did want more playing time.

"I wanted to ask him, but I didn't," the senior said. "I kept putting it off and kept working hard at practice, thinking that I'll get more playing time with the harder I practice."

And it worked.

Zaycer now starts, and Reservoir, thanks in part to the hustle and playing-making of its smallest player, is in its first state final.

The 5-foot-2 Zaycer had a goal and an assist in Saturday's 2-0 Class 3A state semifinal victory over Hereford at CCBC-Essex. The Gators (15-3-1) will meet Tuscarora, a 2-0 winner over Huntingtown, in the state championship game 5 p.m., Thursday at  UMBC.

"This is amazing," said Zaycer when asked about her team playing in the final game of the season. "Words can't describe it. I love it."

Perhaps by fate, Reservoir and Tuscarora met in the first game of the season at the Tuscarora tournament in Frederick County.

"We won 2-1, but it was a battle," said Sullivan. "And for both teams, probably a lot has changed since the beginning of the season."

Tuscarora (14-3-1) beat Huntingtown behind a goal and assist from Aaran Parry. Only a freshman, Parry has set the school single-season, goal-scoring record (22) and has scored in 15 games. The Titans have allowed only one goal in four postseason games.

Reservoir has only allowed one goal in four playoffs game as well. The Gators are playing perhaps their best soccer of the season, having defeated River Hill,  2-0, in the East Region final and then controlling Hereford with midfield superiority and pressure up front.

"They're strong at every position," said Hereford coach Nancy Ferguson, whose team finished 14-3-1.

Reservoir, which lost in the state semifinals in 2005 in its only other final four appearance, applied pressure from the start. Three minutes into the game Zaycer's first shot hit the left post. Nine minutes later, senior forward Kelsey Reiff, the Gators' leading scorer with 12 goals, sent a perfect cross to a wide-open Zaycer near the top of the box. Her shot went off the hands of goalie Kelsey Wirtz and off the crossbar.

"The first half was all about nerves," said Sullivan. "There were a lot of nerves out there and no style of play. We still did have our opportunities, but it had to be on a beautiful through ball and then it's one shot and done because no one is there to support.

"I think calming down won it for us. In the second half we came out and still played aggressive, but finally to a style we were hoping to do."

And that style was to play to feet and to have an organized attack.

After all the near misses, Reservoir finally got on the board with 27:09 left to play. Zaycer chased down the ball at the flag in the right corner. She kept the ball alive and carried it up the back line just inches from going out. She then sent a perfect cross back in the box where Payton Bouie, a natural lefty, one-timed it with her right foot into the right side of the net.

"At halftime we knew we needed to pick it up because we had so many chances," Zaycer said. "We knew we would get one. We believe in ourselves.

"It got close down there when it hit the post (in the first half) so when I saw (the ball) right on the line, I did not want it to go out. I thought, 'I gotta keep this in and give us a chance.' I wasn't going to let it go out."

Wirtz recorded eight saves and kept the Bulls in the game. With 15 minutes left to play, she came off her line and stopped a breakaway shot by Reiff with a sliding tackle.

But a minute later, Wirtz could do nothing to stop the Gators' second goal.

Katherine Tuttle, an unsung player who does so much for the Gators on the left side, carried the ball deep into the Hereford zone and skillfully changed direction to set up a cross with her left foot about 5 yards off the end line. She lifted a perfect ball over the goalie's head and there was Zaycer, all alone at the far post, to put it away with a header.

Sullivan complimented Tuttle on the assist.

"She battles on the left side and she's just phenomenal. She's been great all year," said the second-year coach. "She is just a workhorse and she understands the game so well, and that's huge. Not only does she have a great left foot, but she really understands the right runs to make, when to slow down, when to wait for help, and when to play it back."

And it didn't surprise Sullivan that Zaycer got the header. The Gators' smallest player has a team-high four goals via her head.

Zaycer's first start this season was Oct. 20 against Long Reach in the seniors final home game of the regular season. She scored a goal. She has started all four postseason games, and is tied with Reiff with three playoff goals each.

Zaycer started the season on the bench and got in as a spot player.

"I was using her to give Kelsey a break or Megan Armstrong and she gradually got more and more time and that's how it worked," Sullivan said. "She never came to me once and said, 'Coach I want more time,' or anything like that. She's earned this. She's the sweetest girl in the world and I'm really, really happy for her."

And at the soccer banquet on Nov. 11, Sullivan let everyone know how he felt about Zaycer.

"We had our soccer banquet and I apologized to her," Sullivan said. "I told her, 'Thank you for proving me wrong, because you've been our answer now up top.' She just does all the small things well, and that's what makes us work. We just needed that one other striker up there with Kelsey, and now.since she's been there, Kelsey has been having a lot more chances and a lot more openings."

This story has been updated.

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