McHenry, MD – Dayana Rivera Corder scored off an Allison Wysong feed with 5:57 remaining in the first half Saturday afternoon as second-seeded Community College of Baltimore County-Essex edged seventh-seeded Garrett College, 1-0, in the NJCAA Division II Region XX women's soccer quarterfinals.
"That's kind of been the story all year – we haven't been a first-half team," said GC head coach Brandon Jackson. "We got behind early, which was a challenge since we've had trouble scoring all year."
Essex finished with an 8-1 advantage in shots on goal and a 19-1 edge in shots. GC goalie Madison Kirby made seven saves to help the first-year Lady Lakers squad stay in the game.
Essex, which improved to 7-3-3, beat GC by a 1-0 score for the second time this month. The Knights advanced to a region semifinal against third-seeded College of Southern Maryland, which defeated sixth-seeded Frederick Community College, 3-2, on penalty kicks.
Top-seeded Potomac State College of West Virginia University, which had a quarterfinal bye, will play fourth-seeded Anne Arundel Community College in the other semifinal. AACC overwhelmed fifth-seeded Howard, 6-1, to reach the semis.
Wednesday's semifinal winners will play this Saturday in the NJCAA Division II Region XX title game at Howard Community College.
GC finished its first women's soccer season 1-10-1, but lost three games by two goals or less.
"This was a group that never gave up, and always played together as a team," Jackson said of his squad. "I'm proud of what we did as a first-year program. The overall record may not look that impressive, but if you look at the individual scores, we were competitive all season.
"For a team made up almost entirely of freshmen," added Jackson, "I'm excited to see what next year brings."
Frederick 3, Garrett 0
McHenry, MD – Paxton Troxell scored twice and Riley Russell added a goal last Tuesday for the visiting Cougars, who received a six-save effort from goaltender Morgan Marchesani in a shutout performance.
Garrett goaltender Madison Kirby made eight saves in the loss. All three Frederick goals came in the first half.
