SENATOBIA - A pair of second half goals from
Ethan Barnes helped lift Northwest to a 3-0 shutout of Holmes on Friday afternoon, preserving the Rangers' winning streak.
Northwest improved to 4-6 overall and 4-3 against MACCC competition, remaining in the playoff picture at seventh in the conference standings. Holmes dropped to 3-8 on the season and 0-7 in the conference.
Despite a scoreless first half, both teams went into the break with an even eight shots apiece.
Kaden Smith helped break the scoreless draw in the first few minutes of the second half, earning his second goal of the season in the 49th minute.
In the 66th minute, Northwest gained some breathing room, as Smith assisted Barnes with his first score of the season. Barnes would later punctuate the win in the 86th minute, adding another goal to bring the score to its final point.
Northwest took 23 shots in the match, with eight of those shots coming on-goal. Holmes also finished with eight shots on-goal and 13 total shot attempts.
Will Thompson collected eight saves for the Rangers, while Klelys Gonzalez tallied five for the Bulldogs. Both goalkeepers played the full 90 minutes.
Northwest was whistled for 14 of the match's 24 fouls, including 10 in the second half. Barnes was the only Ranger to be issued a caution though, with his yellow card coming in the 77th minute. Aaron Rodriguez was issued a yellow card in the 74th minute for Holmes and Carter Burton was ejected in the 84th minute.
Next up for Northwest is a non-conference battle on the Bayou against LSU-Eunice on Monday afternoon. The Bengals are ranked fourth in the NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer rankings and currently hold a 9-0-1 overall record.
Monday's match at LSU-Eunice is set for 3 P.M. on the
LSUE Digital Network.
