Box Score SENATOBIA – Sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Thevenot had a career-high 12 saves and freshman Anthony Fernandez netted his third goal of the year in the 27th minute to lift Northwest to a 1-0 win over East Central on a rainy Friday afternoon at the Ranger Soccer Complex.

Northwest bounced back from its first loss of the season on Tuesday and improved to 3-1-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the north. East Central fell to 3-4-1 and 1-2-1 in the division. 

"I thought we played well in the conditions and without Muhamed Bojang for a second straight match," head coach Charlie Baldwin said. "We still have a ways to go in improving and have four non-division games upcoming to work out those kinks." 

In an evenly matched game that could have gone either way, Thevenot's play in the net and a solid defensive effort from the rest of the team helped the Rangers earn their second shutout win of the year. 

Fernandez headed in a Zach Farmer cross at the 26:01-mark to break the scoreless tie, as the ball deflected off a Warrior player and into the net. 

East Central out-shot Northwest 18-15 in the match (12-4 shots-on-goal) and had several scoring opportunities that sailed just wide or were denied by Thevenot. 

The game got pretty chippy in the second half, as Northwest was hit with a pair of yellow cards and East Central was dealt a red card and a yellow. None of the cards affected the game's final outcome. 

For the time being, Northwest is tied for first in the north with Itawamba at 2-1-1. 

Northwest will host Southwest Mississippi on Tuesday, Sept. 24 for its Breast Cancer Awareness Game.

Live match stats will be available at www.sidearmstats.com/northwestms/msoc.