Reyna Coston (22) and the Maryville Rebels defeated the Oak Ridge Wildcats 3-0 in a TSSAA Region 2-AAA tournament semifinal in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
Maryville’s seven seniors on the girls’ soccer team capped a remarkable run this fall with their third state tournament appearance in four years.
None played a bigger role than midfielder Reyna Coston, who set program records for goals scored (93) and points scored (43 career assists) during her four-year career.
Coston, the 2019 5Star Preps Player of the Year, had 30 goals and nine assists this fall as Maryville (18-4-3) advanced to the Class AAA state semifinals where it lost to Brentwood 6-0 in a driving rain in Murfreesboro.
The finish didn’t put a damper on the season, though.
“It was a really good run,” Coston said, “and it was different than last year’s team too which made it cool because everyone was saying, ‘Oh, you’re losing your (2018) seniors,’ but we were all like, ‘No, we’re still going to make it without them. We’ll have new people come in and just keep it going.’ Even when I leave or my class leaves, I hope they’ll make it to state again and win it eventually.”
Reyna Coston and the Maryville Rebels defeated the Oak Ridge Wildcats 3-0 in a TSSAA Region 2-AAA tournament semifinal in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
Coston was an impact player as a freshman forward in 2016, scoring 27 goals with five assists as the Lady Rebels (21-3-1) lost to eventual state champion Clarksville 1-0 in the Class AAA state quarterfinals.
She’s signed to play Division I soccer at Presbyterian College of the Big South Conference, and next fall will play alongside former Maryville teammate Preston Robinette, currently a junior midfielder at Presbyterian.
“I’m really excited,” Coston said. “I think it will be something different. It will be fun playing with Preston too because we used to play with each other and she contributed to my goals a lot my freshman year.”
Coston moved to midfielder her sophomore year (2017) and had 14 goals and 12 assists, but the Lady Rebels missed state after a 1-0 loss to Powell in the Region 2-AAA elimination semifinals.
As a junior in 2018, Coston had 22 goals and 17 assists, and Maryville returned to the Class AAA state tournament where it lost to eventual state champion Houston 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
“I have never coached a player who loves competing as much as Reyna,” Maryville coach Steve Feather said. “She scores her best goals in the biggest games. I have also never coached a player who is impervious to pressure like Reyna. The bigger the stage, the better she plays.”
She’s been playing high-level soccer for years. She also played basketball until the eighth grade before stopping to focus on soccer.
Her parents, Jake and Leah Coston, both played sports but neither played soccer.
But for Reyna it’s become a year-around sport with high school and club soccer at FC Alliance.
Club season starts immediately after high school, running from the end of November until May.
Coston estimates about half the roster of her FC Alliance team consists of players she played against in high school. And the many long hours on the soccer field don’t bother her.
“I feel like I’m kind of used to it because I’ve done it all four years of high school,” Coston said.
Coston attributes the Lady Rebels’ four-year run to some intangibles.
“I feel like a lot of it has to do with we were all friends,” she said. “We’re like a little family on the soccer team, and coach Feather is a really good coach. We just have to trust him and do what he says and play our part on the team.”
Feather said Coston is a special player, and not just because of her talent.
“It is extremely rewarding to coach a player who has competed at such a high level on the high school and club stage and has been awarded so many accolades, but has never developed an ego,” Feather said. “Lots of times high-level players don’t want to hear their coach offer constructive criticism.
“Reyna is out there at practice finishing my sentences. She wants to be coached. She wants you to tell her the truth. She still possesses that unbridled enthusiasm that she had as a freshman.”