Region XX DIII Final Four Set
The four best teams from the regular season will showcase their talent over the next few days in an attempt to separate themselves from the pack, and send their team to NJCAA DIII National Championship Tournament to be held at Herkimer County Community College on November 14-17. Like all good teams, these four teams are entering this final four with winning records and currently 2 of the 4 teams are ranked within the top 10 of the national poll. The final four will see Montgomery, Potomac State, Howard, and the host Prince George's Community College's putting everything on the line for the opportunity to capture the hardware on Saturday.
Montgomery College comes into the final four bolstering a 19-1-0 regular season record, which saw them nationally ranked throughout the entire season. They are the current (District F) Region XX regular season and defending champions and are currently sitting at #2 in the country on the national rankings as of October 23, 2013. They are the top seed in the final four-format after going undefeated and beating the other three teams in regular season play. More so, they ended the current regular season with a high power offense that leads the country with 124 goals and 102 assists. Pedro Braz currently coaches Montgomery College.
Potomac State College of WVU finished the season with a 14-1-2 record, which left them ranked nationally at #9. They currently hold the #2 seed in this tournament and statistically hold the games away advantage after going undefeated on the road this season. They matched up well against the other three participants with a win against Howard, a draw against Prince George's and losing to Montgomery. They have managed to score 70 goals in their 17 games and have balanced their play by allowing less than 1 goal per game this season. Dr. Ray Kiddy is the man in charge of coaching this team.
Howard Community College has a strong tradition of history and success. Winning the Conference titles in 2003, 2011, Co-champion in 2002. They were also NJCAA Regional XX Champions in 2003, 2010, 2011 and earned nationally ranked honors in 2007 and 2009, which was among their greatest achievements. They enter this tournament play with a 13-3-2 record and based on conference play was placed 4th seed in the tournament. They lost to Montgomery and Potomac State and tied with Prince Georges in the regular season. They trumped Anne Arundel C.C. 5-0 this past Tuesday in the Region XX First Round play-in game to advance to the semi-final round. The head coach of Howard is Stefan Draganov who earned NJCAA region XX Coach of the Year honors in 2010 and 2011.
Prince George's Community College enters the tournament with a 14-4-2 record. They have shown steady improvements has the season evolved picking up good wins against Division 1 rivals. They show resilience and composure by posting a 5-2-2 record in 9 overtime games this season. They have matched up well against the other 3 teams in this tournament play even though they lost to Montgomery on the road in a tight 4-3 overtime game, tied 0-0 against Potomac State on the road, and earned a 2-2 tie against Howard at home. Prince Georges will feel that they are in the best position to win, has they are hosting this years tournament and have already knocked off Northern Virginia Community College by a score of 2-1 in the play-in game this past Tuesday. The Owls men are coached by James Bell, and assisted by Machel Millwood, Taiye Akinmboni and Richard Todaro.
These four teams set the stage for a great tournament. Montgomery will play Howard in the first game to start at 3pm and Prince George's will face Potomac State in the late game at 5pm. According to Jo Ann Rogers, Prince Georges Community College Athletics Director, "It is a dream come true to be able to host the tournament this year. " She's happy that finally they have the proper facility that she thinks is ideal for hosting a tournament of this magnitude, and she's extremely excited that this years tournament will be played on a all natural Bermuda grass surface which most will say is ideal for the sport.
The winners of today's semifinals will move on to face each other on Saturday at noon. More so, the champion will advance to the NJCAA DIII National Championship with the opportunity to play for the title.
By Machel Millwood
