SENATOBIA - Behind a pair of second half goals from Avery Hooker and Eliza Olive, 10th-ranked Northwest battled to a 2-0 home victory against No. 16 Pearl River on Friday afternoon.

For Northwest, the win marked the first one since beginning conference play, moving the Lady Rangers to 5-1-1 overall and 1-1-1 in the MACCC. The Lady Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season, falling to 6-1-1 and 1-1-1 against conference competition.

Northwest out-shot Pearl River 10-6 in the first half, but neither team was able to break the scoreless draw before the halftime break. Finally, the Lady Rangers hit the jackpot in the 69th minute, when Dani Rodriguez connected with Hooker on a score. Later, Olive bounced one past the goalkeeper off an assist from Jadyn Duran in the 84th minute, effectively sealing the victory for Northwest.

Northwest finished with 17 of its 22 shots on-goal, while Pearl River compiled seven of its 11 shots on-goal. The Lady Rangers collected seven saves in the win, all by Addy McCann, while Aníta Guðmundsdóttir nabbed 15 saves for the Lady Wildcats.

Both teams finished near-even in total fouls, as Northwest was whistled for 14 infractions against 13 by Pearl River. 

Northwest will return to action on Tuesday, September 27 against Hinds at 1 P.M. The match will be carried on Ranger TV (nwccrangers.com/watch) and Facebook Live, with live stats coverage available on nwccrangers.com. Read Full Article