After a nail biting, double-overtime win last week at regionals, the women of the Anne Arundel Community College soccer team will advance to the District Championship, a distinction allowed to only sixteen National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) teams throughout the country.

On Saturday, October 30^th, the AACC Pioneers met the Harford Owls in a Regional Finals match to determine who would advance to Wilmington, NC, for the District Championship against Cape Fear Community College. The game went on for 110 scoreless minutes before the officials decided that the match would come down to penalty kicks (PK's). It was in these final moments that the Pioneers pulled out a victory with their five points to the Owls' three.

This match was incredibly reminiscent of the past two years, as the meeting marks the third consecutive season that the Pioneers have faced off with the Owls to determine which team would advance to Districts, as well as the third time in a row that the decision has come down to penalty kicks.

When asked about the win, sophomore Samantha Adams said, "It was definitely a good win because last year we lost in the same situation and now we're on the other side."

Sophomore Jaclyn Nucci added, "It was nice because throughout the regular season, they beat us two times so we were the big underdogs." According to Nucci, "No one thought we'd have a chance, so it was really exciting to prove everyone wrong and pull out a big win."

Coach Jim Griffiths, who is in his tenth year of coaching this squad, is pleased with his team's performance against Harford and is optimistic about their chances in Districts.

"I was really proud of the girls," said Griffiths. "The last two games were the best they've played all year. If they keep it up, we'll be fine on Sunday."

In his ten years with AACC, Griffiths has led the women's soccer team to Nationals twice and is definitely hoping that this year's squad can make the cut. "You'll have teams from Idaho, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New York, all over the place so it's actually pretty cool," he said. "I hope they'll get to go experience it."

The players are equally excited about their chances. When asked how she feels the team will fare this weekend, Nucci said, "We're not nervous, we're just excited going into it. We have a lot of good confidence coming out of the last game so we're just trying to roll with the momentum."

The District Championship match will take place at 12pm on November 7^th at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, NC. The winner of the single game will then travel to Topeka, KS, for a week-long tournament that will decide the 2010 NJCAA National Champions.

For more information on the Pioneers, visit http://www.aacc.edu/athletics/wsoccer.cfm