Sometimes the most difficult part of tournament time can be the several days of waiting for the next game. Just ask the Mercer County College women’s soccer team. It was last Saturday when the Vikings (14-1-2) captured the Region 19 championship with an impressive 10-0 win over Essex. The wait is almost over as Mercer’s next step along the tourney trail is the East District Championship on Friday when it faces Region 20 champion, Anne Arundel (12-2-1), on the turf at Mercer. A win here and Mercer heads to the Junior College Division II national championship in Huntsville, Alabama. “The girls are very excited to play in the district championship on Friday,’’  said second-year coach Ron Stinson, who was named the Region 19 Coach of the Year. “They’ve been upbeat and positive all week and they seem like they’re ready to go.’’ Mercer has been ready to go since the second game of the season. After losing the season opener to Suffolk (NY), the Vikings have been a fantastic 14-0-2. Since the fateful day in August, Mercer has scored 77 goals, including 20 in the last two games, and allowed just eight. Anne Arundel comes into the game having won eight straight. It won the Mid-Atlantic District title in 2022. “Anne Arundel is a very good team,’’ said Stinson. “They play more direct, and we play more possession. It should be a great game. We can’t fall into the trap of playing their style. We have to maintain possession and not turn this into a track meet. If we play our game, I think we’ll be hard to beat.’’ The last 16 games prove just how tough the Vikings are to beat, and they’re getting a small boost from having the game on their turf. “Home field advantage is huge for us,’’ stated Stinson. “Our girls get to sleep in their own beds, follow their normal schedule, play on a pitch that they’re familiar with, and they get the support of the fantastic MCCC fans. The other sports teams have been so supportive of our girls, and we can’t wait to return the favor.’’ Mercer picked up another honor when freshman Eva Strum, from Berlin, Germany, was named the Division I/II Region 19 Player of the Year. All Strum did was score nine goals and add four assists in Mercer’s two Region 19 Tournament games. “Eva is definitely a matchup problem for any team,’’ admitted Stinson. “If they try to shadow her, it creates space for other players. If they play positionally sound, she’s difficult to contain, so it allows us to counter our opponent’s strategy. She works hard and was on the receiving end of some great balls last week, but you have to finish, and she usually does just that.’’ Now, the Vikings would like to finish off the Districts and head South. “I want this so bad for these young ladies,’’ Stinson declared. “You have to remember, we had trouble fielding 11 players for every game last year. These sophomores could have looked at transferring to other schools, but they didn’t. The sophomores remained loyal to Mercer because we promised them we were going to build this team to compete and go to nationals this year.’’ A commitment by the sophomores and an enthusiastic freshman class that bought into the dream have Mercer on the verge of making good on a promise. “The first-year players believed in our vision and took a chance on Mercer,’’ said Stinson. “I’m big on loyalty, and I’m so proud of these young ladies and the character they’ve shown to believe in us. They deserve this and they’ve worked all season to put themselves in this position. I don’t know the last time the women’s program went to nationals, but it would be an incredible accomplishment.’’ It’ll be worth the wait.