Campus News
November 5th, 2024
Top-seeded Riverhawks eliminate GC
Kovazh scores 11th goal as Lady Lakers fall in region semis
Arnold, MD – Emma Miga scored twice and added an assist as top-seeded Anne Arundel Community College defeated fifth-seeded Garrett College, 4-1, last Wednesday in an NJCAA Division II Region 20 women’s soccer semifinal.
The Lady Lakers came into the contest on a 6-1-1 hot streak that included a 4-0 quarterfinal win over fourth-seeded Carroll Community College. GC, however, had to play the semifinal without leading scorer Nevaeh Hamborsky, who suffered an ACL injury in the quarterfinal win.
"Losing her was a big hit for us, but the team knew they had to battle and that’s what they did," said GC head coach Brandon Jackson. "They showed a lot of grit."
Miga scored unassisted 10:08 into the contest and set up Jaylin Sheffield’s goal at the 27:48 mark as AACC took a 2-0 halftime lead. Garrett, however, pulled within 2-1 on Victoria Kovazh’s 11th goal of the season just 3:56 into the second half.
Chloe Underwood restored Anne Arundel’s two-goal lead, tallying off a Megan Strevig feed at 56:56. Miga netted her second goal just 2:01 later as the Riverhawks took control.
Jackson said GC’s second-year program "checked off a lot of boxes this season."
"We went from a one-win team to 6-8-3 with three one-goal losses," noted Jackson. "It took us about half a year for us to come together and build our chemistry, but we played so well down the stretch this season.
"It was a magical run," added Jackson. "Finishing in the top four in the region and earning a Region 20 tournament win were our ultimate goals – and we achieved them."
Anne Arundel (11-2-1) finished with advantages in shots (23-8), shots on goal (15-6), and corners (8-1).
Garrett goaltender Kayla Moore recorded eight saves in almost 68 minutes while yielding the four AACC goals. Sara Tabuena stopped all three Riverhawk shots she faced in 22 minutes in net.
Pela Saunders stopped five of the six shots she faced while playing all 90 minutes in goal for Anne Arundel.
Notes: Hamborsky, just a freshman, set single-season and career team records for goals (15) and points (33). Kovazh set single-season and career records for assists (10) while finishing just behind Hamborsky with 32 points.
