JCC women’s soccer reach Region 3 championship
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FALCONER, N.Y. -- A near full moon hung above the soccer pitch at Falconer High School Wednesday night as Jamestown Community College (JCC) earned a spot in the Region 3 women’s soccer championship game with a 2-1 victory over Herkimer College.
The opening minutes mirrored the final score, as both teams found space and tested the opposing goalkeeper in a back-and-forth battle.
In the 18th minute, sophomore Kaylyn Carnes put her boot to the ball, but Herkimer’s goalkeeper was up to the task, keeping the game knotted at 0-0.
The Generals had opportunities to net the game’s first goal in the 27th and 42nd minutes, but sophomore Angel Busch came up big, making two of her four saves on the night.
JCC had another chance to take the lead in the 37th minute, but Avery Johnson sent her shot just wide of the net, and the teams went into halftime scoreless.
That scoreless deadlock continued into the 83rd minute, when the intensity reached another level and the Jayhawks responded in front of a packed house filled with green and gold.
First, Kennady Ellsworth settled a ball in the box and tapped it over to Alexandria Halstrom, who buried the attempt to give JCC a 1-0 advantage.
The capacity crowd had barely finished celebrating when freshman Gracie Chimera finished an assist from sophomore Kaylyn Carnes. In less than a minute, Jamestown had built a 2-0 lead, sending Jayhawk Nation into a frenzy in the stands.
Just when it looked like JCC could cruise through the final seven minutes, Herkimer found the back of the net to cut the deficit to 2-1 with six minutes remaining.
Despite three goals being scored in a span of roughly 90 seconds, JCC hunkered down defensively and ran out the clock to secure the one-goal victory.
Jamestown now turns its attention to the Region 3 championship, hosted by Genesee Community College on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.