FULTON - Behind an explosive second half performance, the Northwest Mississippi Community College women's soccer team (11-3, 6-3) bested Itawamba Community College (5-5, 4-5) by a score of 7-2 in a Tuesday night matchup at the ICC Soccer Complex.
The Rangers looked to be getting off to a fast start when their relentless pressure led to a foul being called in the box. However, sophomore Aven Matthews was not able to put the penalty kick away and the score remained deadlocked.
Shortly after the missed penalty kick, the Indians were able to capitalize off of a chance on a breakaway and go up 1-0 in the 14th minute.
The ICC lead did not last long. In the 19th minute, sophomore forward Kassidy McMillan was able to clean up the rebound off of a save from ICC's goalkeeper and draw the game level.
Even when Northwest had drawn level again the Indians seemed to hold all of the momentum. The Indian defense was holding strong and goalkeeper Neva Garcia made several showstopping saves. ICC was rewarded for their efforts when a foul was called in the box and, unlike Northwest, they were able to sink the penalty kick into the back of the net.
However, the Itawamba lead would once again not last long, and in the 43rd minute, the Rangers would draw the game level at 2-2 when Matthews made up for her missed penalty with a goal off of an assist from Rylee Ringold.
Although the first half was an even contest between the two MACCC opponents, the second half was all Northwest.
The first of five unanswered second half goals came in the 57th minute from Olivia Miller, and just seven minutes later, Miller was able to score another goal on the breakaway to extend NWCC's lead to two goals and to make the score 4-2.
From the outside looking in, it seemed obvious that both the Itawamba defense and offense were not playing with the same prowess that they were in the first half. Each big chance in the first half resulted in an ICC goal, and the lone big chance in the second half ended in a magnificent save from the Rangers' freshman goalkeeper Lydia Knabb.
Northwest continued to apply pressure and further extended their lead when Mary Logan Clark slotted home Anna Rethmeier's cross in the 79th minute. Then, just three minutes later in the 82nd minute, sophomore Joline Knevel added her name to the score sheet when she sent a rebounded shot into the back of the net.
The seventh, and final, goal for the Rangers came in the dying seconds of the game. In the 90th minute, sophomore substitute Maggie Pace slotted a shot into the back of the net for the Rangers.
Northwest will return to Senatobia for Sophomore Night on Friday, October 23 for a match against #20 Hinds (7-6-3, 3-6) at 5:00 p.m. at the Ranger Soccer Complex.
To stay up to date on the NWCC women's soccer team, follow the Ranger social media accounts or go to nwccrangers.com.
