Riverhawks Defeat No. 1 Seed Oxford to Advance to Championship

The Details

              Final Score: Riverhawks 2, Oxford College of Emory University Eagles 1

              Updated Records: AACC 9-4-1 overall, 3-3-1 conference. CSM 9-7 overall

              Location: Anne Arundel Community College – Arnold, MD

              Box Score: Found here

              Media Gallery:  Game video found here / Photos found here (courtesy of Frank Mitchell Photography, LLC)

Game Notes

              As the No. 4 seed of the 2017 NJCAA DIII Region XX & District Tournament, the Riverhawks were set to face the No. 1 seeded Eagles from the Oxford College of Emory University. As host for the tournament, AACC defeated the Eagles at home yesterday afternoon, 2-1, providing an exciting semifinal match for spectators at Siegert Stadium of Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, MD.

              The Eagles of Oxford would strike first during the match, netting a goal 16:38 into the first by some quick ball movement up field followed by Eagle, Tejan Singh, crossing a shot just out of reach for diving Riverhawk goalkeeper Deanna Valerien (Gambrills, MD/North County). Now trailing by 1, with their season possibly on the line, Madeline Stevenson (Severn, MD/Archbishop Spalding) would take control and put the equalizer goal on the board for the Riverhawks, tying the match up at the 30 minute mark. With time expiring for the 1st half, the teams would be even on shots (5-5) and head into intermission with the score at 1-1.

              With the second half underway, AACC took little time to grab the 2-1 lead as Gabriell Keogh (Gambrills, MD/Arundel) delivered a perfect ball for Stevenson to finish on (her second of the game and 14^th goal of the season), just 38 seconds in. The two teams would continue to push offensively in hopes of securing their team a trip to the finals.

              Oxford would put themselves in multiple scoring opportunities (8 corner kicks and 10 shots in the second half) but with AACC goalkeeper Valerien making seven saves on the day supported by the strong defense of Melissa Stagnitta (Annapolis, MD/St. Mary's), Kayla Beasley (Baltimore, MD/Old Mill), and Courtney Schulte (Baltimore, MD/Old Mill) – the Eagles would fail to score again before time would expire.

Up Next

              With the semifinal victory, the Riverhawks will advance to the Championship Match on Sunday October 29^th at 10 am. With the No. 3 seed Montgomery College Raptors defeating the No. 2 seed Howard Community College Dragons, AACC will face the Raptors for the 2017 NJCAA DIII Region XX & District Championship Title. As host for the tournament, action will continue to be held at Sigert Stadium of Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, MD.

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