No. 1 seed Brookhaven College defeated RCSJ-Gloucester by the score of 6-0 in the semifinals of the NJCAA DIII Women's Soccer National Championship Tourney. With the win, the Bears advanced to the title game on Saturday, June 5. They boosted their record to a perfect 12-0 on the season. The Roadrunners finished the season at 6-4.
Julie Castro, Abigail Gutierrez, Lilee Simpson, and Kelsey Vickery each scored a goal in the convincing win. Italia Avila played a stellar game and found the back of the net twice to lead the potent offense in the win over the Roadrunners. The stingy Brookhaven defense held the Roadrunners to just six shots.
The top-seed Bears, however, were stunned by No. 2 Delta, 4-1, in the championship game on June 5.
Quarterfinal Round
No. 4 Runners 2, No. 5 Herkimer 1
A first-half outburst proved to be all that was needed as Gab Cirucci and Leigh Swietanski netted goals to lift the No. 4 seed Roadrunners to a 2-1 triumph over No. 5 Herkimer in the 2021 NJCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship quarterfinal round on Tuesday at Union County College.
Coach Megan Ruttler's team also received outstanding play from goalkeeper Danielle Jeffreys, who stopped 12 of 13 shots on goal to preserve the win.
The Runners grabbed a 1-0 lead on Cirucci's goal at 31:34. The Generals tied the score at 1-1 on a score by Kayla Suppa at 32:41 before Swietanski netted the game winner at 38:39 with an assist from Miranda Uzdavines.
The Runners will face a tough opponent Thursday in the semifinals as they play No. 1 seed Brookhaven, a 14-1 winner over No. 8 Suffolk County.
"Brookhaven has a lot of speed all across their lines, so we're in for a big test," said Coach Ruttler. "That being said, we will be aggressive in our attack and push them as hard as we can -- we'll see what happens."
The match starts at 4:30 pm.
Tournament Preview
Coach Megan Ruttler's Women's Soccer team will compete in the NJCAA Division III National Championships June 2-5 at Union County College in Cranford, NJ.
The Runners enter the tourney as the No. 4 seed and will meet No. 5 Herkimer Community College in an opening round contest on Wednesday, June 2, starting at 1:30 pm.
"We expect this to be hard-fought game, and it usually is between a No. 4 and No. 5 seed," said Coach Ruttler. "Herkimer has traditionally been a very strong opponent, and we need to play well in all areas of our game if we're going to advance to the next round."
Check back here for all the game details and make sure to catch all the action on livestream.
The Runners, led by sophomore midfielder Leigh Swietanski and freshman midfielder Miranda Uzdavines, enter the game with a 5-3 overall record. They had captured the Region XIX Eastern District Championship in late May to earn a berth in the National Championship Tournament.
NJCAA Division III National Championships
@ Union County College / Cranford, NJ
June 2-5, 2021
Click Here for complete tournament brackets
Follow all games here on NJCAA Network
Follow Live Results Here
NJCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championships
June 2-5, 2021
Schedule for Wednesday, June 2:
Game 1 (11:00 am)
No. 1 Brookhaven vs. No. 8 Suffolk County
Final: Brookhaven 14, Suffolk County 1
Game 2 (1:30 pm)
No. 4 RCSJ-Gloucester vs. No. 5 Herkimer
Roadrunners 2, Herkimer 1
Game 3 (4:30 pm)
No. 2 Delta vs. No. 7 Elgin
Final: Delta 15, Elgin 0
Game 4 (7:00 pm)
No. 3 Mohawk Valley vs. No. 6 Union County
Final: Mohawk Valley 5, Union County 4
Schedule for Thursday, June 3
11:00 am
Consolation
No. 8 Suffolk County vs. No. 5 Herkimer CC
Final: Herkimer 3, Suffolk County 0
1:30 pm
Consolation
No. 7 Elgin vs. No. 6 Union County
Final: Union County 3, Elgin 0
4:30 pm
Semifinal
No. 4 RCSJ Gloucester vs. No. 1 Brookhaven
Final: Brookhaven 6, Roadrunners 0
7:00 pm
Semifinals
No. 3 Mohawk Valley vs. No. 2 Delta
Final: Delta 5, Mohawk Valley 1
Schedule for Friday, June 4
Championship Final
No. 2 Delta vs. No. 1 Brookhaven College
Final: Delta 4, Brookhaven 1