Holmes to face Rock Valley in NJCAA Tournament pool play Sunday
RIDGELAND --- The No. 2 ranked and No. 4 NJCAA Tournament seed Holmes Community College Lady Bulldogs begin pool play Sunday at 5:45 p.m. against No. 11 and No. 9 NJCAA Tournament seed Rock Valley.
Holmes comes into the match 15-2 while Rock Valley is 17-2-2. Holmes will play Mississippi Gulf Coast on Tuesday in another pool match. Gulf Coast is the No. 5 seed and finished No. 5 in the final regular season poll.
Leading scorers for the Lady Bulldogs include: Tyler Grace Sims (NW Rankin), 6 goals, 7 assists, 19 points; Mallory Sutton (Saint Amant, La.), 7 goals, 5 assists, 19 points; Kate Gray Nesbit (NW Rankin), 7 goals, 2 assists, 16 points; Kaylee Avant (Newton County), 5 goals, 4 assists, 14 points; Maddie Caldwell (Jackson Prep), 6 goals, 2 assists, 14 points; and Emma Korhonen (Foley, Ala.), 3 goals, 6 assists, 12 points. The Lady Bulldogs are scoring 2.94 goals per match and are giving up less than one goal per match.
Aly Vancor (NW Rankin) and Lilly Callum (Madison Central) have split time in goal. Vancor has 730 minutes in goal, 20 saves and three goals against. Callum has 765 minutes in goal, seven goals against and 44 saves.
Emilia Arias (Carpentersville, Ill.) leads Rock Valley with 9 goals, 11 assists and 29 points. Other leaders include: Kassandra Jimenez (Belvidere, Ill.), 8 goals, 8 assists, 24 points; Hailey Wesphal (Winnebago, Ill.), 8 goals, 8 assists, 24 points; Johanna Hawley (Rockford, Ill.), 7 goals, 7 assists, 21 points; and Joscelyn Posada (Cherry Valley, Ill.), 6 goals, 9 assists, 21 points. The Golden Eagles score 3.57 goals per match and give up less than one goal per game.
Rock Valley has given up 16 goals this season and have played three goalkeepers including: Saretha Marquez (Rockford, Ill.), 340 minutes, 0 goals, 4 saves; Kristina Vinger (Dodgeville, Wis.), 405 minutes, 3 goals, 17 saves; and Kailie Murphy (Belvidere, Ill.), 1080 minutes, 13 goals, 37 saves.
Tickets
Tickets for the tournament can be purchased at https://www.visitwichita.com/get-tickets/. Prices are $60 for an all session pass, $20 for a day pass; $15 for a student day pass; children five and under are free.
Stream
The entirety of the 2025 NJCAA DII Men's and Women's Soccer Championship will be broadcast live on the NJCAA Network at https://www.njcaa.org/network/landing/index and will be available to view on-demand at the conclusion of each contest. The NJCAA Network is available through a variety of pay-per-view pricing options: Day Pass - $12; Tournament Pass - $20; and All-Access Pass (all 2024-24 NJCAA Championship events) - $100.
Tournament website
The official tournament website can be found at https://njcaachampionship.prestosports.com/sports/wsoc/div2/headlines-featured.
Past History in the Tournament
The 2020-21 season was the first season for a NJCAA Division II Tournament, and the Lady Bulldogs made an appearance in Evans, Ga. Holmes went 2-0 in pool play and then defeated Heartland, 2-1, in double OT before falling to Phoenix in the National Championship game.
In 2021-22, the Lady Bulldogs played two pool games and went 1-1 and were unable to advance to the semifinals. The tournament was held in Wichita, Kansas.
In 2022-23, the Lady Bulldogs went 1-0-1 in pool play and advanced to the semifinals on penalty kicks. Holmes defeated Jones, 2-1, in the semifinals before falling to Phoenix in the National Championship Game. The tournament was held in Tucson, Ariz.
In 2023-24, the Lady Bulldogs went 2-0 in pool play and fell to Jones in the semifinals. The tournament was held in Tucson, Ariz.
In 2024-25, the Lady Bulldogs went 2-0 in pool play and fell to Northwest in the semifinals. The tournament was held in Huntsville, Ala.