NEWTON, N.J. — Macy Forest scored twice and Olivia Wollschlager made six saves to lead Harford Community College women's soccer to a 3-0 victory over Sussex County Community College on Friday, Nov. 6. to capture the NJCAA East District title and punch their ticket to the NJCAA national tournament.
The NJCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championships in Huntsville, Alabama, November 15-21.
Forest scored once in each half, while Grace Manager added a late insurance goal as the Fighting Owls secured the shutout on the road.
Harford wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Forest opened the scoring in the 12th minute, finishing a pass from Lila Vincenti to give the Fighting Owls a 1-0 advantage.
Despite the opening goal, Sussex remained competitive and generated opportunities of its own. The Skylanders finished with a 10-7 advantage in total shots, but Harford was more efficient with its chances, putting all seven attempts on target. Sussex managed six shots on goal.
Wollschlager proved up to the challenge, turning aside all six shots on target to preserve the shutout. Her performance was particularly important as Sussex continued to look for an equalizer throughout the first half.
"Olivia has had an incredible year," said head coach Rebecca Volk. "She's allowed just one goal against Division II opponents and four total the entire season. Those kinds of numbers as a freshman are ridiculous!
"I think [Olivia] brings a lot of her own natural ability to her role and an incredible work ethic, but I would be remiss not to credit the back line in front of her for limiting the amount of good opportunities our opponents get."
The Fighting Owls (16-1-2) eventually created separation in the second half, with Forest finding the back of the net again in the 68th minute. The forward's second goal doubled Harford's advantage to 2-0 and gave her a game-high three shots, all on target.
Six minutes later, Harford added its third and final goal. Hailey Cain set up Manager in the 74th minute, with Manager converting the opportunity to extend the lead to 3-0 and put the game out of reach.
Forest finished with two goals on three shots, while Vincenti and Cain each recorded an assist. Both players also registered a shot on goal. Manager added the final goal, giving Harford three different goal scorers on the afternoon.
Defensively, Harford limited Sussex to six shots on target despite facing 10 total attempts. Wollschlager played all 90 minutes and recorded her six saves without allowing a goal.
The Fighting Owls will now put their talents on display at the national level as they travel to Alabama for the program's first trip to nationals since 2017.
"We get to experience something only 12 teams in the whole country get to be a part of," Volk said. "There's not a doubt in my mind that these girls deserve it."
Harford drew the No. 11 seed and will take on No. 2 Holmes Community College on Sunday and No. 7 Heartland Community College on Monday in pool play. Both games are schedule for kickoff at 1:30 p.m. EST.
