Senatobia — The Northwest Mississippi Community College men’s soccer team fell 2-0 to No. 5 Jones College at the Ranger Soccer Complex. The Rangers, who are 4-4-2, struggled to overcome the top-ranked Bobcats, who improved to 9-0-1, according to team officials.
Head coach Whatley Whatley praised Jones College’s quality and the team’s effort. “Jones is a good team. We knew that coming in, and they put their chances away,” he said. “Hats off to our boys for the fight they put in and for changing the system that we haven’t done before.”
The match was tightly contested early on. Jones opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Stanley Georgiou converted a penalty kick after a foul in the penalty area. Northwest’s defense and freshman goalkeeper TJay Gibb kept the score at 1-0 until halftime, despite several Jones scoring opportunities.
The Rangers launched a series of offensive plays early in the second half but could not find the net. Gibb and the defensive unit continued to hold the Bobcats until the 87th minute, when Mario Novaku scored from approximately 35 yards out to seal the victory for Jones.
Despite the result, Coach Whatley emphasized the team’s effort. “Our fight overall,” he said. “We didn’t get the result, but there’s always positives.” The team will host Holmes Community College on Friday at 7 p.m. in a MACCC contest at the same venue. Fans can follow updates on the team through the Rangers’ social media accounts or at nwccrangers.com.
