RIDGELAND – The #2 Northwest Mississippi Community College women's soccer team dropped their first contest of the season and their first loss in the last 34 matches on the road at Holmes Community College, falling to the Bulldogs 2-1 in a tightly contested affair.

Northwest found multiple chances early in the match as they tried to take the momentum including a shot from Aven Matthews that just was kept over the crossbar by the Bulldogs goalie to keep the match level in the opening 15 minutes and give the home side a chance to regain their footing.

While Holmes didn't create many chances in the match, only taking four shots in the first half, they did strike first on a 24^th minute goal when a cross to the box was redirected outside of the 18 and a strike to the top right corner was finished to put the Bulldogs up 1-0.

Adjustments by the Rangers on defense kept the Bulldogs from really threatening the goal much after that, but the same also was said for the attack of Northwest which only had two shots on goal for the rest of the half themselves and only had three of ten in the first half find the frame with none getting past the goalie.

The two sides returned for the second half with the score still favoring Holmes 1-0 and the Rangers once again went to work attacking to bring the pressure against the Bulldogs.

After eight minutes, it was Holmes that again took advantage of their speed. The ball was spread wide to the left side and crossed for a shot. Defensive pressure didn't get there in time to prevent a shot from just evading the glove of Ann Marie Barton, pushing the lead up to 2-0 in the 53^rd minute.

Northwest boosted their pressure in the final 30 minutes which led to the Rangers doubling the shot attempts in the second half that came from Holmes. It also led to the first goal of the match for Northwest in the 77^th minute when Emma Jensen took the ball across the top of the 18-yard box before finding a crease in the Bulldogs defense to score and draw the Rangers within one.

The Bulldogs defense stiffened from there and the final 13 minutes became a battle in the middle of the pitch. Northwest was unable to really get another strong challenge on the goal and saw the final horn sound with them on the losing side for the first time in 2025.

The Rangers outshot Holmes 23-9 in the match and had six corner kicks to the Bulldogs four. The Bulldogs picked up 15 fouls, including a yellow in the 65^th minute, as they were the more physical team throughout.

With the loss, the Rangers drop to 11-1-1 overall and 6-1-1 in conference action. Holmes jumps ahead of them with a 7-1 conference record.

Northwest will have seven days before their next match when they take on #7 Jones College in Ellisville on the 21^st. The Bobcats are 7-3-2 on the season and 4-2-1 in conference play. Streaming information and more can be found on nwccrangers.com or by following along with Ranger social media accounts.