AACC’s women’s soccer team won the NJCAA Region 20 Division II Championship on Saturday on their home field 

The Riverhawks won 3-2 against third-seed College of Southern Maryland to claim the championship title. The team will travel to Mercer Community College on Friday for the NJCAA DII East District Championship match to determine which team goes to Nationals. 

The accomplishment “means a lot for the girls, you know,” women’s soccer head coach Jim Griffiths said. “They’re the ones that put in all the hard work.”

Two second-year athletes, midfielder Makenzie Boyd and forward Jaylin Sheffield, and first-year midfielder Evan Barthas scored the Riverhawks’ goals. 

The women’s team finished the regular season with 12 wins, one tie and two losses. 

Last year, the team made the final round of the regional championship but lost in overtime to Community College of Baltimore Essex.

“It was definitely a good change from last year,” Tina Tinelli, a second-year cybersecurity student and returning defender, said. “Because last year we lost the final so it was nice to be on the other end of receiving, like, the trophy and the plaque and everything this year.”

Tinelli, the team captain, said the season went “pretty well.” 

“We had a lot of girls from a lot of different high schools,” Tinelli said. “And we will continue to have the best-case scenario of, kind of like, melding everyone’s skills and abilities from high school together to make our team better.”

Griffiths agreed, adding, “They worked really hard this year, and feel like it was something that they deserved. Felt like they had peaked at the right time.” 

AACC Athletic Director Duane Herr said winning the title is a “tremendous accomplishment.”

“[It’s] the second year in Division II for women’s soccer, testament to the talent that we have in our surrounding area, that we can compete at a high level,” Herr said. “So I’m just proud of the team, proud of the coaching staff.”

The national championship will begin on Nov. 17 in Huntsville, Alabama.