MERIDIAN - After surrendering an early goal less than six minutes into the match, Northwest responded with three unanswered scores in the first half to take a 3-1 victory at Meridian on Friday afternoon.

Two of the Lady Rangers' goals came from sophomore Ally Bailey, who also provided an assist on the final goal from Jennifer Enriquez in the 42nd minute.

Meridian quickly struck first, as Anna Card connected with Claire Benson to give the Lady Eagles the early lead. However, Northwest grabbed the momentum from there and never looked back, finishing the match with a 25-9 shot advantage.

Although the Lady Rangers fired off several attempts, Meridian remained ahead until the 30th minute, when Bailey knocked in her first goal off an assist from M.J. Loeffel to tie the match. Five minutes later, the Lewisburg alumnus struck again off an assist from Molly Rose, permanently giving the lead to Northwest.

Enriquez gave Northwest an added boost with her goal just before the break, with Bailey providing the assist. Despite a scoreless second half, the Lady Rangers maintained the momentum for most of the final 45 minutes, keeping Meridian off the board with a solid defensive effort.

Defensively, Maggie Olive netted five saves in 88 minutes of action, while Meridian's Meri Laci Archer grabbed 13 saves on the other side.

With the win, Northwest improved to 2-0, while Meridian fell to 1-2 on the season. The Lady Rangers are slated to return home for another non-division match against Copiah-Lincoln on Tuesday, August 31, with the match slated for a 1 P.M. start time.