Glen Burnie's remarkable run to the Anne Arundel County championship game ended in a heart-breaking 1-0 loss in overtime to unbeaten Broadneck at Meade High School last night.
Mark Holmes' goal off a feed from Craig Vincent 2: 59 into overtime brought the No. 5-ranked Bruins (13-0) sudden victory, but the play of goalkeepers Frank Servideo of Glen Burnie (7-6) and Broadneck's John Svec provided most of the highlights.
"On that last play, Craig [Vincent] had a beautiful ball," said Holmes, describing his eighth goal of the season. "He had all the defenders coming over on him, and he did a no-look, heel ball to me as I came in wide open, shouting at the top of my lungs for the ball. He gave it to me right where I wanted it, and I put it away."
Most county coaches and observers expected senior-dominated Broadneck to be there this season, but few expected Glen Burnie to be their opponent in the final.
"Glen Burnie came ready to play and played like champions of the North Division. I think it was a really exciting game," said Broadneck coach Jon Braun. "Both goalies were outstanding."
Former Severna Park assistant John Camm took over the Glen Burnie program three years ago, and the Gophers have steadily improved, going 4-8-1 (1994) and 6-7 last season.
Broadneck (5-0) rolled through the South Division to advance to its first county championship game, and unranked Glen Burnie (4-1) won its final game by 3-0 over Meade (7-5, 3-2) to win the North.
"Broadneck is a great team and really took it to us the first 20 minutes of the second half, but we had a couple chances late in the game, and that's all we can ask," said Camm, whose squad also lost to Broadneck, 2-0, in regular season.
Servideo, a junior, made 15 saves with several in the second half bordering on the spectacular to keep the Gophers in the game. His senior counterpart, Svec, snuffed seven shots, including back-to-back sprawls on the same series late in regulation.
"Their goalkeeper came up big on numerous occasions, and John Svec continued to do the things he's done for us all year in running our defense and making the big saves when he had to," Braun said of the Bruins' 11th shutout.
Svec and his defenders have allowed only three goals in 13 games, which the keeper explained this way: "These guys play really great and cover each other, and I'm just kind of the director of the backs [making] sure everybody is covering."
Broadneck opens at home in the Class 3A region playoffs at 7 p.m. next Wednesday vs. No. 4 Mount Hebron (9-1). Glen Burnie opens at 7 p.m. Friday at home with Northern of Calvert County in the Class 4A playoffs.
Pub Date: 10/23/96
