SENATOBIA – Hosting the MACJC men's soccer state quarterfinals, Northwest took a three-goal lead in the second half and held off a late rally from Jones County to seal a 3-2 victory against the Bobcats on Thursday afternoon.

Northwest improved to 12-6-1 overall, tying a single-season school record for wins, and advances to the semifinals of the MACJC State Tournament, hosted by Hinds on Friday-Saturday at Tom Shepherd Field. More info on the tournament [here].

It didn't take long for the Rangers to get on the board, scoring in the fourth minute when Armando Barron chipped a perfect ball over the top to Jaylen Harvey. Harvey's goal was his fifth of the season and gave Northwest a 1-0 lead, which the Rangers held going into halftime.

Just 2:54 into the second half, the Rangers struck again, as Karim Mueller drilled one in from 30 yards out top shelf, extending the Northwest lead to 2-0. Lance Crabtree followed by sailing in a kick from near midfield, off a Jonathan Felix assist, scoring his 16th goal of the season and putting the Rangers up 3-0.

However, the Bobcats didn't go away quietly and caught the Rangers' attention with a goal from Dung Vu in the 87th minute. Jones County inched even closer in the 89th minute, as a goal from Rodolfo Lopez cut the Northwest lead to 3-2.

But Northwest would run out the final minute as Will Jones maintained possession into the Bobcats' corner, sealing the 3-2 win and sending the Rangers to the state semifinals for the first time since 2009. 

Northwest outshot Jones County 12-10 but both teams were even with five shots-on-goal. 

Northwest will face Pearl River (13-2) on Friday afternoon in the MACJC semifinals. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. in Raymond.