AACC’s women’s soccer team made it to the NJCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championship in November but lost the second game.

The team won the NJCAA Division II Region 20 and East District championships to qualify for the national tournament.

“We played really, really well,” women’s head soccer coach Jim Griffiths said. “So I’m really happy with their performance and how they represent the college.”

The 11th-seed Riverhawks won the first game of nationals against Rock Valley College from Rockford, Illinois, 4-3. In the second round, AACC lost against second-seed Johnson County Community College from Overland Park, Kansas.

Johnson County scored two goals in the 40th and 52nd minutes to beat the Riverhawks, knocking AACC out of the tournament. 

“We beat the No. 7 seed, and we played the No. 2 seed and lost 2-0,” Griffiths, who has coached the women’s team for 18 seasons, said. Johnson County was “very good. … That’s why they’re the No. 2 seed. They were just a really strong team, they had a lot more depth than we did, and they were just very talented.” 

The tournament was held in Huntsville, Alabama.

 The Riverhawks won the regional championship, which AACC hosted, against College of Southern Maryland 3-2 on Nov. 2 to qualify for the district match. In the district match on Nov. 8, AACC beat Mercer Community College 4-3 to reach nationals.

The Riverhawks have made it to nationals twice in three years. The team also played in the national tournament in 2022. 

Griffiths said this year’s season was “phenomenal” for the women’s team. 

“I can’t say enough about their work ethic, their attention to detail, doing all the little things correctly,” Griffiths said. “It’s been really good.”

Makenzie Boyd, a returning midfielder, agreed.

“We all played our hardest,” Boyd, a second-year nursing student, said. “[We] proved why we were there, and we grew closer as a team, and I feel like we just all left it on the field, so I’m proud of each and every one of us.” 

Boyd added: “I think it was just … hard competition. I think we all tried as hard as we could. We just didn’t get the outcome that we wanted, but we all did our best, so I think it was a win.”

Jaylin Sheffield, a returning forward, said the team reached its goals this season by winning the district and reaching nationals. 

Sheffield, a second-year transfer studies student, added: “I think we’ve come a long way. … I definitely know that the team wouldn’t be the team without having the sophomores, because last year was kind of bittersweet for us, and we made it our mission to get farther than the previous year.”

Athletic Director Duane Herr said the team fought hard.

“They played a really strong tournament,” Herr said. “So I think it was definitely positive. Great experience. Proud of them, incredibly.”