Frederick, MD – Nevaeh Hamborsky's hat trick helped rally Garrett College to a 5-2 women's soccer victory Saturday afternoon against host Frederick Community College.
"Nevaeh was a game-changer for us," said GC head coach Brandon Jackson. "She put the team on her back in that match. She's definitely starting to find her groove at the right time."
Hamborsky scored her second and third goals of the match just 2:25 apart early in the second half, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. Hamborsky leads the Lady Lakers in both goals (eight) and points (19) this season.
Courtney Milner's fourth goal of the season with 20 minutes left put the Lady Lakers in control and Laci Slick tallied in the waning minutes to wrap up the win. Garrett's four-goal second half against Frederick was built on a 10-2 shots advantage after intermission.
This was the first NJCAA Division II Region 20 victory for the second-year women's soccer program. GC (2-7-2 overall, 1-4-1 Region 20) has scored 22 goals over the past six games while going 2-3-1, compared to five goals in the first five games while starting out 0-4-1.
"We finally got over that hump," Jackson said of notching a region victory. "We took some hits early in the year, playing competitively against really tough teams. Now we're clicking at the right time, which makes us a dangerous team."
Hamborsky scored just 2:42 into the game to give Garrett a 1-0 lead, but Frederick answered with goals by Alyssa Pizer and Emily Blohm to take a 2-1 advantage into halftime.
GC goaltender Johnna Collins made five saves to earn the victory. FCC netminder Natalia Alvarado stopped seven shots as Garrett finished with an 18-7 shots advantage.
"We had some bench personnel step up Saturday and play some really good minutes for us," said Jackson, noting the reserve performances by Jacquelyn Jeffreys and Chloe McCaul. "Laci Slick had a huge impact and our back line – Cheyenne Zack, Allison Harrold, and Ruby Molloy – did a very good job."
Garrett has three straight home games this week, including a pair against Region 20 rivals.
The Lady Lakers host regional contests Tuesday night (7 p.m.) against Potomac State College of West Virginia University (1-5-1, 1-2-1) and Thursday night against Howard Community College (1-6, 1-4). GC finishes the week, this Saturday, with a noon contest against Penn State New Kensington (0-5).
"We have opponents we match up very well against this week," said Jackson, whose squad could help its regional position with wins against Potomac State and Howard. "We've got to play our game and see what happens."
CSM 4, Garrett 3
McHenry, MD – Sara Allwine's hat trick last Thursday helped the College of Southern Maryland wipe out an early 1-0 deficit and the Hawks held off a late GC rally to earn the victory.
Nevaeh Hamborsky scored off a Victoria Kovazh feed just three minutes into the game, but Baylee Copsey tied the contest at the 16-minute mark. Allwine's first two goals gave CSM a 3-1 halftime lead; her third tally five minutes into the second half stretched the lead to 4-1.
Hamborsky scored with six minutes left and Courtney Milner tallied two minutes later to pull Garrett within 4-3, but the Lady Lakers couldn't get the equalizer.
Garrett finished with a 23-21 edge in shots and had a 6-2 advantage in corners. Southern Maryland goaltender Kylie Smith turned aside 14 shots to earn the win.
Sara Tabuena played the first 71 minutes in goal, yielding the four CSM goals while making six saves. Johnna Collins recorded a scoreless 19 minutes while finishing the game in the Garrett net.
