GERMANTOWN, Tenn. - There wasn't much that could stop
Ally Bailey and the 12th-ranked Northwest Lady Rangers on Friday afternoon.
After torrential rains forced a quick site change from the Senatobia Sports Park to Landers Ford Stadium at Houston High School, Bailey scored three goals and added a pair of assists to highlight the Lady Rangers' 8-1 victory against Dyersburg State.
Northwest scored quickly just seven minutes in, as
Cody Dowell provided the assist on Bailey's first goal. Despite a barrage of 19 first half shots, Northwest remained ahead by the lone goal at the halftime break.
It wouldn't take long for the Lady Rangers to break out in the second half however, as Bailey's first assist found the scoring foot of
MJ Loeffel in the 49th minute. The pair connected once again a minute later, as Loeffel earned her 16th goal and tied Adrienne Whitson (2002) for fifth-most in a single season.
Leading 3-0, Bailey found the net for the second time in the 59th minute, thanks to an assist from
Jennifer Enriquez. The Olive Branch native's scoring finally came to a close in the 68th minute on an unassisted goal, pushing the Lady Rangers to a 5-0 advantage, while also earning her 25th career goal to move into fourth in career scoring. (Bailey's two assists also pushed her to second most in program history with 18, needing two more to surpass the all-time record by Gena Gutierrez.)
Dyersburg State finally got on the board in the 73rd minute by way of a penalty kick from Kenia Valdizon, but the score did little to dampen the spirits of the Lady Rangers. With 15 minutes remaining, the reserves got in on the action, beginning with
Jer'kaila Jones' first career goal, a header off a
Molly Rose assist in the 79th minute.
In the 80th minute,
Kristina Medford collected her first score of the season, as her corner kick sailed over the head of the Lady Eagles' goalkeeper and into the back of the net. Medford would then earn an assist in the 85th minute, as
Melinda Hernandez polished off the big scoring day for Northwest.
Northwest outshot Dyersburg State 34-2 on the afternoon, including an 18-2 shots-on-goal advantage. The Lady Rangers were also awarded with 13 corner kicks.
Northwest improved to 12-2 overall with the win, good for the most victories in a single-season since a 14-5 mark in 2006, where the Lady Rangers won the MACJC North Division and finished as the Region 23 runners-up.
Awaiting the Lady Rangers will be the final three matches of the regular season, all coming in division play. First up is a Sophomore Day tussle with Hinds on Tuesday, October 19 at 1 P.M. Live coverage will be provided on Ranger TV (nwccrangers.com/watch) and Facebook Live.
