TUCSON, Ariz. – In its first year competing at the Division II level, the No. 7 seed Johnson County Community College women's soccer team will play for a national championship following a thrilling 1-0 victory over top-seeded Phoenix College Thursday afternoon at the NJCAA D-II Women's Soccer Championship at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Ariz.
This will be JCCC's second national title game appearance. They reached the championship at NJCAA Division-I 2009 tournament falling to Tyler Junior College.
"I am so proud of this group of ladies the way they bonded together and played well as a team," said had coach Jim Schwab. "We are looking forward to competing to win a national championship! Also, my staff (coaches Alex & Maddye Hagan, trainer Sarah Plowman) has done an amazing job getting our players ready and healthy to play all week in Tucson. Additionally, the support from our administration and athletic staff has been truly amazing."
Tied 0-0 at the half, sophomore midfielder Sydney Hammett scored an unassisted goal just 30 seconds after the start of the second half for 1-nil advantage. It was Hammett's eighth goal on the season and second game winner.
The next 44-minutes, 30-seconds the Lady Cavaliers defense shut down one of the country's top 10 scoring offenses, holding the Bears (15-2-3) to just two shots on goal.
For the match, JCCC goalkeeper Maddox Fergus stopped all four shots faced for her second shutout of the tournament and seventh on the season. She is 8-10 overall with a goals against average of 0.61.
Johnson County (18-3-2) will battle No. 5 seed Jones College for NJCAA D-II National Championship on Saturday, November 18 at 1 p.m., CST.