SENATOBIA - In more ways than one, the Northwest women's soccer program made history on Saturday morning.
With the Lady Rangers' 3-0 victory against East Central in the MACCC/Region 23 Quarterfinals, Northwest collected its 11th shutout victory of the season, tying the single-season program record. Only one other Lady Ranger team has earned 11 shutout wins in a season, the 2004 squad led by Northwest Sports Hall of Fame coach Peter Jarjoura.
Additionally, Northwest now has a streak of six-straight shutout victories, also tying the 2004 squad for the longest consecutive streak. The Lady Rangers, ranked No. 6 in the nation, improved their record to 12-1-2 with the win, as East Central ended its season at 8-7-2.
Northwest fired off several shots over the course of the first half, but East Central applied pressure throughout and kept the Lady Rangers' shot on goal percentage to a low 25 percent. Despite the offensive struggles, Northwest returned the favor on defense, holding the Lady Warriors to just two shots.
East Central started off the second half with the same pressure, but Northwest eventually began to break through. After a corner kick in the 52nd minute, a slew of Lady Rangers and Lady Warriors battled in the box, with freshman
Evie Crawford finally getting a shot attempt to connect, thanks to an assist from
Bre'Aunna Harps.
Despite being in the 1-0 deficit, the Lady Warriors refused to back down, continuing the pressure on Northwest. However, the Lady Rangers finally gained some breathing room in 84th minute, as
Dani Rodriguez stormed down the pitch, connecting with
Jennifer Enriquez for a 2-0 advantage.
In the closing moments of the match, Rodriguez added a well-deserved goal of her own off an assist from
Amaya Andrews, providing the exclamation point.
Northwest outshot East Central 23-6, but four of the Lady Warriors' six shots came on goal. In contrast, the Lady Rangers saw only nine of their total shots come on target. Both teams also combined for 24 fouls, with 13 issued to Northwest.
With the win, Northwest advances to the semifinals of the MACCC/Region 23 Playoffs this coming weekend in Ellisville. Jones College is the site for the semifinals and championship by virtue of finishing as the top seed in the men's soccer standings.
Northwest will take on tournament host Jones College on Friday, November 4 at 5 P.M. Ranked fifth in the nation, the Lady Bobcats (11-1-2) are winners of three straight matches, the most recent being a 6-0 thumping of Meridian in the Region 23 Quarterfinals. Jones also leads the series 3-2-1 all-time, most recently handing the Lady Rangers their only loss of the season back on September 16.
Coverage of Friday's match can be seen via Jones College at
jcbobcats.com/watch.Â
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