Campus News

October 20th, 2026

Lady Lakers rally for first soccer victory

Wareham’s late penalty-kick goal defeats Frederick, 2-1

McHenry, MD – Freshman forward Avri Wareham converted a penalty kick with 3:44 remaining last Wednesday to lift Garrett College over Frederick Community College, 2-1, as the visiting Lady Lakers notched their first win of the women’s soccer season.

The winning goal was set up when Rosabel Cardy drew a foul in the penalty box. GC head coach Zach Ward immediately designated Wareham to take the kick.

“Before going into the game, the coaching staff had a conversation. We decided if we drew a penalty kick, she would be the one to take it,” said Ward. “We didn’t share that decision with Avri.”

Wareham pushed the shot into the left corner of the net for her first collegiate goal to get the Lady Lakers – who’ve played the entire season with a 12-player roster – into the win column.

“They’ve put a lot of hard work and training and grit and vigor into this season – and it finally paid off,” said Ward.

Frederick took a 1-0 lead on Rachel Castro Orozco’s unassisted goal 15:48 into the game, but Ava Hunt’s third goal of the season with 6:05 remaining in the first half tied the game. Hunt took a well-placed cross from Cardy on the right side of the goal, beat a defender, and then pushed the ball past FCC goaltender Hannah Cook (three saves).

Payton Finley stopped three of four shots in goal for Garrett to earn the victory.

Garrett (1-12) finished with an 8-7 edge in total shots and had a 5-0 advantage in corners over the Cougars (0-9-2). The victory snapped a 23-match winless streak (0-22-1) for the Lady Lakers.

“As a coaching staff, we’ve asked a lot of the athletes,” said Ward. “They’ve taken it in stride and done exactly what we asked and more.”

Anne Arundel 5, GC 0

McHenry, MD – Alyssa Simms notched a second-half hat trick last Friday as Anne Arundel Community College broke open a close game.

The Riverhawks (11-2-1) had a 20-0, first-half shots advantage, but could only muster a 2-0 halftime lead on unassisted goals by Maddie Raynes and Alaina Minefski. Raynes then set up two of Simms’ three second-half goals as Anne Arundel pulled away.

Simms has 22 goals with 52 points this season for Anne Arundel.

Garrett College goalkeeper Payton Finley finished with 16 saves. Ryleigh Smoot notched the shutout in the net for AACC without facing a single shot.

GC dropped to 1-13.

Anne Arundel beat the Lady Lakers, 9-0, last season in a game that was stopped after 70 minutes. GC head coach Zach Ward said going the distance against a strong Riverhawk squad was one of his team’s goals for this year’s match-up.

“We wanted to play the full 90 minutes,” said Ward. “We didn’t get the result we wanted, but I was very pleased with the energy level and work rate against a very good team.”

Men’s Soccer

GC 3, Frederick 3

Frederick, MD – Cesar Aguilar scored twice in the last 4:10 last Wednesday as Frederick Community College escaped with a draw against the visiting Lakers.

Darius Hamilton and Lucas Alonso Garcia each scored in the game’s first 11 minutes to give Garrett a 2-0 lead. Connor Grimm cut the deficit in half midway through the first half, but Elijah Zapata’s goal with 18:34 remaining restored Garrett’s two-goal cushion.

Garrett finished with a 19-7 advantage in total shots, a 10-5 edge in shots on goal, and an 8-4 lead in corner kicks.

Anne Arundel 3, GC 1

McHenry, MD – Mason Tolliver, Jay Hughes, and Gio Reyes each had first-half goals last Friday for the victorious Riverhawks.

Max Hinchy scored with 3:41 remaining to foil Riverhawk goalkeeper Kristian Ali’s shutout bid.