September 2, 2021
The East Central Community College Warriors duked it out with the Owls of the Mississippi University for Women's men's team on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 1. The match ended in a 1-1 draw as two late goals got the fans to their feet at Bailey Stadium in Decatur.
"There were periods, especially in the second half, where I thought we controlled the tempo," said ECCC head coach Ethan Paschal. "However, we didn't execute when we needed to. We need to have more composure in those moments, so we will get back at it and work."
It was a defensive showcase in the first half as both teams battled it out in the midfield and played hard-nosed defense around their goals. The impressive play kept the match scoreless through the first half as all attacking efforts from either squad were quickly snuffed out. The refs kept their whistles down for most of the half and allowed both teams to play very physically.
The second half seemed much of the same, aside from the Warriors getting a few more offensive looks. That pressure finally broke through with just five minutes on the clock. George Mota (Fortaleza, Brazil) took it straight down the middle of the Owls' defense and scored a beautiful goal to put the Warriors on top, 1-0, with just five minutes remaining.
Unfortunately, that ECCC lead was short-lived as the Owls capitalized on a corner kick just one minute later as former ECCC Warrior Jacob Vickers scored on a rebound to knot the game at one-all with just under four minutes remaining in the contest.
The Warriors are on the road next Tuesday, Sept. 7 as the team travels to Poplarville to take on Pearl River at 5 p.m.
