(Wichita, KS) –Waubonsee Community College's women's soccer team opened play in the 2021 NJCAA Division II National Tournament with a disappointing 3-0 loss to Sussex County (NJ) Community College. The 10th seeded Skylanders (10-2) scored three second-half goals to upset the third-seeded Chiefs (16-2-1) at the Stryker Complex in Wichita, Kansas. Overall the Skylanders out shot the Chiefs 15-12, but regarding shots on goal, Waubonsee had the edge 9-8 in the first Pool C match-up. The 12-team tournament continues with games in each of the four Pool Play brackets going through Wednesday.
The first half witnessed a back-and-forth battle, ending in a scoreless tie. Each team had potential scoring opportunities with the defenses rising to the challenge each time. The Chiefs' trio of scorers Katie Jones, Olivia McPherson and Kiara McPherson were all unable to find the back of the net. Meanwhile, Waubonsee keeper Isabelle Harkleroad, with the help of defenders Amy Flores, Bailey Prichard, Lindsay Ferris, Sonia Macias, Emely Mendoza and Molly Herbig, kept the Skylanders off the board. Harkleroad, who entered the contest with a stellar 0.29 goals-against-average, made several outstanding stops early in the second half as well. However, the Skylanders overall team speed slowly began to emerge as they continued to put pressure on Waubonsee's defense and wear them down.
Sussex County, with nine foreign-born players on their roster, utilized that connection to finally brake through in the 56th minute. Paula Herrold, from Beilefeld, Germany, scored with an assist from Sophie Taylor, a native of Aberdeen, Scotland. The Skylanders then quickly tacked on another score just three minutes later as Blaise Vallorisi broke through the Chiefs' defense and blasted a shot past Harkleroad from point blank range. Five minutes later Sussex County added a third score in less than a 10-minute span as sprinting Taylor bounced a shot from five yards out past Harkleroad off a perfect feed from Carina Gasparini, a native of Roethis, Austria. Skylanders keeper Sofia Anika, a native of Lisbon, Portugal, then kept the Chiefs off the scoreboard over the final 25 minutes of play to secure the shutout.
Waubonsee is now set to play defending National Champion Phoenix (AZ) College on Wednesday, November 17, beginning at 4:00 p.m. (CDT) in their other Pool C match-up. That contest can been seen 'live' online at www.NJCAA.org/network for a minimal fee. Before that the sixth-seeded Bears (12-3) will square off against Sussex County tomorrow, November 16, starting at 4:00 p.m. The top finisher from each of the tournament's four Pool Play brackets will advance to the semi-finals on Friday, November 19. For results, brackets and additional information on the tournament go to www.NJCAA.org