SENATOBIA - Last fall was certainly an interesting one for the Northwest women's soccer program.

With the NJCAA opting to move the 2020 soccer season into the spring, the Lady Rangers were limited to practices and a handful of exhibition matches. On top of that, further adjustments hit the program when former head coach Levi Nunnally stepped away for a new opportunity after seven seasons at Northwest.

That's where James Beattie comes into the picture. The former Mississippi Gulf Coast standout and Christian Brothers University assistant was appointed as the program's head coach last December and tomorrow, he will make his coaching debut when the Lady Rangers travel to Copiah-Lincoln at 1 P.M.

Since arriving in Senatobia, Beattie has guided his program through practices and a two-fold adjustment of a mid-year coaching change and playing in a late, non-traditional season.

"It has been a long and unusual season for them," Beattie said. "With low numbers and playing in the spring, it has been hard but they have been able to adjust. We are just ready to finally play someone other than ourselves. Even though the numbers are low, I've inherited a talented roster from Coach Nunnally and this coming fall will bring us a larger class, so that's going to help me as a coach and help our team in the long run."

Some of those student-athletes he inherited include forwards Ally Bailey and Isabelle Cardenas, midfielder Katelyn Rock and a pair of experienced goalkeepers in Maggie Olive and Trinity Baynham. In all, Beattie has a total of 11 sophomores on his roster and all but one of those suited up for Northwest last season.

Bailey, a native of Olive Branch, led the Lady Rangers with six goals last season, while also providing three assists. Rock finished with a team-high five assists and three goals, while Cardenas provided a pair of goals and an assist.

"Ally has really stood out in the last few months," Beattie said. "She's grown a lot as a player and her motivation has really increased. She wants to play soccer at the next level, so we have set goals for her to try and achieve in order to get that done. Izzy (Cardenas) has also played well, along with a strong midfield that Katelyn leads with her energy."

Beattie also looks forward to having a solid defense and the ability to use two experienced veterans in the net.

"The growth by our defenders has been huge over the recent months," Beattie said. "Cody Dowell has been fantastic and she's really starting to click. Logan Tomlinson is a utility player and I'm really happy with her growth, along with Sarah Kate Burns, who is getting more technical with the ball. With Trinity and Maggie, both work super hard. I've asked them to do a lot and both are competing well."

Even with the plethora of returning sophomores, Beattie's squad also contains more than a few talented freshmen. One of those is midfielder Molly Rose (Memphis, Tenn./Houston HS), who joined the program in time for the spring semester.

Other notable newcomers include a trio of midfielders - Jessica Jaimes (Olive Branch, Miss./Olive Branch HS), Eliza Olive (Olive Branch, Miss/Lewisburg HS) and Kristina Medford (Horn Lake, Miss./Horn Lake HS).

"Eliza has been unbelievable in the preseason," Beattie said. "She's capable of controlling the game herself. Molly is one of the hardest working players I've seen and she's added so much talent. The girls really feed off her energy. Kristina and Jessica are both super technical as well."

In addition to the newcomers, Beattie also brings in a newcomer on the staff in former Lady Ranger Alex Young. A native of Olive Branch, Young played for Northwest in 2012-13 and earned a bid to the MACJC All-Star Game following her sophomore season. She finished her Lady Ranger career with eight goals and three assists, while helping Nunnally to an 8-4-2 record and a playoff berth in his first season.

"She was one of the first people I called when I got this job," Beattie said. "I knew I needed to get her involved and she's going to be a huge help to myself and our program."

For Beattie, the schedule doesn't contain any certain victories. The MACCC North Division alone contains a pair of top-ranked teams in No. 2 Holmes and No. 7 Itawamba, and opponents like East Central and Hinds have gotten the best of Northwest in the past.

Still, regardless of what happens in this tough division, Beattie has one simple goal for his team in a wild and wacky year.

"Our goal is to compete," Beattie said. "We have to compete and get better after every match we play. Our growth has been huge over the last few months and I want us to build off that growth over the next two months, to beneift the girls we have coming back and the ones arriving next fall."

Northwest will open the home portion of its spring schedule against Meridian on April 8. All home contests will be held at the Senatobia Sports Park due to construction on a new softball and soccer fieldhouse facility.

Live stats for all games can be found on nwccrangers.com. A decision regarding live broadcasts for home matches will be made the day before each scheduled event.