Men's Soccer Earns 8th Seed in NJCAA Championship

ARNOLD, MD – The Anne Arundel Community College men's soccer team has earned the eighth seed in the 2021 NJCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship, and will face top seed Dallas Richland in the opening round at 11 am on Thursday, November 11 at Herkimer College in Herkimer, N.Y.

 AACC (8-6) won the NJCAA Division III South District title with a 2-0 victory over Oxford College of Emory on Saturday, October 30 at Siegert Field. The Riverhawks advance to the national tournament for the first time since 2005 and for the first time under 16-year head coach Nick Cosentino. Current assistant coach Ken Wolf served his final season at the helm of the program in 2005 before turning the team over to his then-assistant Cosentino. 

"It has been 16 years since we last made it to nationals and we are looking forward to the opportunity to play the toughest teams in the country," said Cosentino. "This team enjoys competing and if we play smart and trust each other we will make waves in New York.  I have really emphasized to our guys how important it is to really enjoy the experience."

"I am proud of our team and how hard they have worked this season," he added. "Our team chemistry and leadership has helped us overcome challenges this season and a difficult schedule where we played a long stretch of games on the road."

AACC played six-straight road games in September and October while Siegert Field was being resurfaced. The Riverhawks went 5-1 during the stretch, including wins over Division I Hagerstown and perennial Division II powerhouse Howard. AACC hosted CCBC Essex on the new AstroTurf RootZone 323 surface on October 7, which was 35 days after their last home game.  

The Riverhawks were crowned NJCAA Region 20 DIII champs with a 3-0 record in Region 20 divisional games. AACC recorded shutouts in two of the three games and outscored those opponents, 11-1.

AACC is paced offensively by Charles Warari, who has scored six times this season, including three game-winners. The Riverhawks' top playmaker is midfielder Nicki Llerena, who has recorded six assists on the year to go with three goals.

Zane Saab has played the bulk of AACC's minutes in net with a 1.18 goals against average and a .848 save percentage. He was named the NJCAA Region 20 DIII men's soccer athlete of the month in September after going 3-1 with a pair of shutouts and allowing just two goals in a four-game road trip during the month. 

Anne Arundel will face top seed and three-time defending national champion Dallas-Richland (14-0-1). The ThunderDucks come into Thursday's game on a 14-game win streak, winning the Midwest District championship, 4-1, over Anoka-Ramsey Community College on October 31 in Chicago, Ill. 

All tournament games can be streamed on the NJCAA Network at njcaa.org/network.

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