POPLARVILLE - Better late than never.

That saying proved to be true for No. 3 Northwest in Tuesday's road match at 13th-ranked Pearl River. A scoreless match through 83 minutes, sophomore defender Raylin Dixon connected on a goal to seal a tight 1-0 win for the Lady Rangers.

For Dixon, it was her first goal of the season and just the second of her career, as Northwest moved to 17-1 overall and 10-1 in the MACCC. Pearl River dropped to 11-5 overall and 7-4 in conference play.

More importantly, the win allowed Northwest to claim a share of the MACCC title for the first time in program history. Because of Holmes' 3-2 victory against Jones College on Tuesday, the conference title is split three ways with Northwest, Holmes and Jones College, as all three teams finished 10-1 in the conference standings.

Due to goal differential, Jones College will get the top seed and the rights to host the Region 23 Tournament on November 4-6. The Lady Rangers are the No. 2 seed and Holmes will be the No. 3 seed, with Pearl River, Mississippi Gulf Coast, Itawamba and Copiah-Lincoln seeded fourth through seventh, respectively. 

Northwest and Copiah-Lincoln will square off on Saturday, October 28 at 2 P.M. in Senatobia, with the winner advancing to the semifinal round next weekend.

Saturday's match is free admission and will be carried on Ranger TV. Read Full Article