SOUTH HOLLAND, IL – First game jitters were not a problem for the South Suburban College (SSC) Women’s Soccer Team. They won their opening game of pool play in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II National Championship Tournament. The Lady Bulldogs defeated the Sea Devils of Cape Fear Community College (Wilmington, NC) 4-2 on Tuesday, November 16, 2021.

The Sea Devils scored the first goal of the game at the 8-minute mark. Nyah Bejarano (Blue Island, IL) set-up Stephanie Mendoza (Blue Island, IL) to tie the game 1-1 at the 22-minute mark. Seven minutes later, SSC’s Priscilla Sotelo (Chicago, IL) assisted Amaris Gonzalez (Lansing, IL) for goal number two. Shortly before halftime, Gonzalez kicked her second goal for the Lady Bulldogs, giving them a 3-1 lead.

Each team scored one goal in the second half of the game. Hannah Miller of Cape Fear Community College lifted a shot on goal just over the outstretched arms of Lady Bulldogs goalkeeper Ruby Rosalas (Chicago, IL) to cut SSC’s lead to one. The match saw tireless play from both teams the remainder of the game until Gonzalez broke free of the Sea Devils defense to secure her third goal of the game. Rosales is also to be commended for her goaltending with seven saves for the Lady Bulldogs.

The SSC Women’s Soccer Team (#8 seed) will continue to compete in “Pool A”. Their next game is against Heartland Community College (#1 seed) on Wednesday, November 17 at 11 a.m. The winner of this game will advance to the semi-final, scheduled for Friday, November 19. The National Championship Game will follow on Saturday, November 20.

For more information, contact Head Coach Tony Gonzàlez at jgonzalez@ssc.edu or Athletic Director Steve Ruzich at sruzich@ssc.edu. SSC is located at 15800 South State Street, South Holland, Illinois.