SENATOBIA - Coach Michael Sullivan's first season was met with challenges and adversity.

Northwest posted a 2-12 overall record, notching just one conference victory against Meridian late in the season. Despite the record, the Rangers had several close calls in losses to Belhaven, Hinds and nationally-ranked Copiah-Lincoln. 

Some might look at last season's results and think that the Rangers could struggle again this season. However, this season's roster is chock full of talented freshmen, several sophomores and a slew of transfers, creating an exciting mix of possibilities that can lead to a new team mindset.

"We need to look for what I call 'culture guys'," Sullivan said. "Those are guys that fit along the lines of what I want our team culture to be, not necessarily focusing on just talent or pedigree. We want to be more of a family instead of just a team with a lot of different-minded people thrown together."

Though Northwest loses a talented trio in Luis Cosme (Bluefield University), Jesus Villegas (Belhaven) and Koby Rhone (Belhaven), the Rangers do have eight sophomores and a redshirt freshman returning off last season's roster. One of those returners is Connor Young, a defender that held down the starting goalkeeper role last season. Young, a sophomore from Pascagoula, tallied 118 saves last year, setting a new single-season program record.

Despite his numbers, Young should see a shift back to defense, as the Rangers bring in freshman goalkeeper Will Thompson from Hernando. In his senior season, Thompson netted 107 saves and guided the Tigers to the second round of the MHSAA Class 6A Playoffs.

However, many things still remain up in the air with his defense, and the same goes for every other position group as well. Despite the uncertainty, that is something that Sullivan is actually excited to see for his team.

"We are trying to still figure out some things in every group, but we have a good group of multi-talented guys," Sullivan said, regarding his defense. "Defense is slowly but surely becoming the new midfield and the new distributors. It is a hard area to really make a solid decision in and it takes a lot of time to figure out, because you have to be the big muscle guys but you also have to distribute. We have some good leaders and I am excited about our defense, but there is still a lot up for grabs. I think it is good for our culture to not have everyone guaranteed, because this team has a lot of fight and competitiveness. It's a dogfight every practice, but in a good way. You're fighting for time in every single position."

"We have a couple forwards returning and a few coming in," Sullivan added. "We are pretty deep, in tersm of talent. Some of our forwards should have a majority of the goals, but we have some others that can come in and provide us with a lot of time to keep our legs fresh. I think we are deep enough on the front line where we are able to rotate, and I think we have a lot of depth in the midfield as well. That's a high work-rate group going box-to-box on offense and defense, but we have several guys that play other positions that can drop in and give us some minutes there."

As for his transfers, Sullivan brings in seven, including a handful from other MACCC programs. Forward Gabriel Burton and midfielder Will Waltrip come to Northwest from Pensacola Christian College, while forward Miller Thorsen arrives from the University of West Florida. Midfielder Dylan Orellana and defender Christian Williams spent last season at Skagit Valley College and Chandler-Gilbert Community College, respectively.

"We had a lot of turnover last season," Sullivan said. "I knew if we brought in all freshmen this season, we wouldn't have a lot of sophomores. I just thought that it would be a good idea for us to bring in some experience, along with the freshmen. It will take them time to mold in and fit our culture, but having a year under your belt goes a long way. I found some players that I am excited to see what the final product is from this group. They have a lot of heart and potential."

Northwest opens the season on the road for three straight road matches, before hosting Southern Union State for the 2023 home-opener on Tuesday, September 5. The Rangers will then welcome Mineral Area College and National Park College, before stepping into conference play at Meridian on Friday, Sept. 15. In all, Sullivan has nine home matches on the docket this season.

In conference play, the Rangers will face an ever-challenging slate with three nationally-ranked opponents down the stretch. Jones College checked in at No. 5 in the preseason polls, followed by 13th-ranked Pearl River and 20th-ranked Copiah-Lincoln. Additionally, the Rangers will also travel to LSU-Eunice on October 9, a team that ranks ninth in the NJCAA polls.

However, Sullivan isn't focused in one particular team and he's certainly not overlooking any opponents either.

"I don't think it's fair to judge a team solely off last season's performance," Sullivan said. "I took that into consideration when making some of these schedule decisions. I just wanted to pick teams on the schedule that wanted to play and teams that wanted to challenge us. We have a tough non-conference slate ahead of us that will open our eyes, and make our guys realize that you can't overlook anyone. Every game will be a fight and our exhibition against Meridian was a perfect example. I think it's great to find teams that will give you a run for your money, and that was my biggest thought process in putting this team together."

As he has alluded to, Sullivan is looking to instill a culture of unity and competitiveness in his program this season. To do that, he's looking for his squad to be unpredicatable, but maybe not in a way that some might think.

"Our top goal is to be as unified as possible when trying to complete a task," Sullivan said. "One of our problems last year was that we were the same thing from game to game. What I would like is to be inconsistent, at least in terms of what people can expect out of us. If we're going against a team with a weaker defense, then we would like to exploit that. If we play a team that is really good attacking, I want us to be able to keep the ball out of the net. Those are the things that these teams bank on."

Northwest kicks off the 2023 season Wednesday afternoon at National Park College, slated for a 5:30 P.M. start time. All home matches this season will be carried live on Ranger TV.