WESSON – A strong defensive performance and a balanced offensive attack helped the #3 Northwest Mississippi Community College women's soccer team to a 4-0 win over Copiah-Lincoln Community College on Tuesday night to put the cap on another strong regular season for the Rangers.
"It was a good way to close out our regular season," Head Coach James Beattie said. "Now all energy needs to go into the postseason and trying to become a better version of ourselves."
Northwest didn't have it come easy to them against a CoLin team that was still searching for at least a draw to get into the postseason field, and early on, found trouble getting to the goal against a crowded box which limited the shot opportunities.
While they didn't get many shots, the Rangers did take advantage of the ones they took, scoring on the opening shot of the game when Kassidy McMillan found Molly Thompson on an extra pass that got the Wolves goalie out of position and set up Molly Thompson for the opening score just five minutes into the game.
It took nearly 30 minutes for the Rangers to break through again, controlling the ball in the CoLin half of the field, but being frustrated by a defense that seemed to just tip the ball away at the right time to keep the Northwest offense from getting in shooting position. It took until the 35th minute to find another goal on a near perfect feed from the right wing by Mary Logan Clark to Emma Jensen to make it 2-0 with a header to the right side of the goal when Jensen just beat the goalie to the ball.
Adjustments at halftime opened up the shot opportunities more for Northwest. After taking only seven shots in the opening 45 minutes, NWCC battered the Wolves goal with 18 shots in the second half, nine of which were on goal.
CoLin kept the Rangers from breaking through again until the 70th minute when Olivia Miller found space inside of the 18-yard box, settling a ball at her feet before finishing with a rocket past the goalie to make it 3-0, and just two minutes later Maggie Pace collected herself from 25 yards out and pushed the lead to 4-0 with a ball that just sailed under the crossbar.
Meanwhile, on the defensive side, the Rangers found more pressure from the Wolves who had to open their attack more and managed to challenge Northwest's defense a few more times. Ann Marie Barton, who was just coming off of being named the MACCC Goalie of the Week, showed exactly why, making three saves, all in the second half on the way to the teams sixth shutout of the season.
It was a strong way to close out the year, and Beattie said seeing the balance in the attack is exactly the way the team needs to be playing.
"Having multiple goal scorers at this point in the season is so important for us. Players like OJ Miller and Maggie Pace getting on the score sheet for us tonight is massive."
Northwest will take second seed in the upcoming Region 23 Tournament and will host the opening round on Friday against #7 Itawamba Community College. Kickoff for the match is scheduled for 5:00 pm at the Ranger Soccer Complex.
Admission to the match is free to the public and the game will be streamed on RangerTV with the pregame show beginning at 4:50 pm. More information on the schedule can be found at nwccrangers.com or by following the Rangers on social media.
