Harford Community College scored twice in the final 17 minutes to defeat the Garrett College men’s soccer team 3-2 Saturday afternoon in the NJCAA Division II Region 20 quarterfinals in Bel Air, Maryland. The result ended Garrett College’s season and sent third-seeded Harford Community College into the regional semifinals.
Pedro Azambuja tied the match at 2-2 on a rebound with 16:13 remaining. Andile Muhlauri then scored the winning goal on a penalty kick with 2:46 left in regulation, improving Harford Community College’s record to 12-5-2.
Garrett College Men’s Soccer Takes Two Leads
Darius Hamilton scored both goals for sixth-seeded Garrett College, giving him 11 goals and 12 goals for the season. His first goal came at 30:31 and put Garrett College ahead 1-0, but Mani Awah answered 59 seconds later with a penalty kick to tie the match.
Hamilton scored again with 1:17 remaining before halftime to give Garrett College a 2-1 lead. The Lakers maintained that advantage for more than 20 minutes in the second half before Azambuja’s tying goal.
Harford Community College finished with a 29-0 advantage in second-half shots and a 6-1 edge in second-half corner kicks. The Fighting Owls also held a 47-4 advantage in total shots and a 19-3 lead in shots on goal.
Wyatt Hull Makes 16 Saves
Garrett College goaltender Wyatt Hull made 16 saves in the quarterfinal. Interim head coach Logan Turner credited Hull with keeping the Lakers within reach despite Harford Community College’s sustained pressure.
“He had a fantastic game,” Turner said of Hull, noting that two Harford goals came on penalty kicks and the third followed an initial save by Hull before the rebound.
“They had the ball most of the second half and were applying constant pressure on the back line,” Turner said. “We just had a couple of moments where we had a counter attack and scored.”
Garrett College Finishes With Winning Regional Record
Garrett College finished the season 7-8-2 overall and 7-6-2 in regional play. The winning regional record marked the first in program history, while Garrett College improved from a 5-12 record the previous year during the program’s second season.
Garrett College scored 45 goals in its second season, compared with 24 in its first season. Turner became the program’s head coach days before the season opener because of an unexpected coaching vacancy and served as the interim head coach during the season.
“The boys played really hard. It was a great performance overall,” Turner said. “I thought for the most part the season went pretty awesome. For the guys to come around and play as well as they did, I’m proud of them.”
“Overall, I thought it was a great experience,” Turner added. “The team worked well with me. I think we came together and built something special.”
Harford Community College advanced to the NJCAA Division II Region 20 semifinal against second-seeded Howard Community College. Howard Community College defeated seventh-seeded Cecil College 3-0 in the other quarterfinal and entered the semifinal with a 14-1-2 record, while Cecil College finished 7-10-2.
Maryland Sports Blog Take
The Garrett College men’s soccer team finished its second season with its first winning regional record after competing with Harford Community College in a 3-2 quarterfinal loss. Hamilton’s two goals gave Garrett College an early advantage, while Hull’s 16 saves kept the match close against a Harford Community College attack that finished with significant statistical advantages.
Garrett College’s improvement from 5-12 to 7-8-2 overall, along with its increase from 24 goals to 45, provided measurable progress during the program’s second season.
Source: Original report
