April 20, 2021
It has been a thrilling week for the East Central Community College Lady Warriors soccer team as the squad picked up a win Sunday, April 18, over Mississippi Gulf Coast before being ranked No. 18 in the latest NJCAA national poll, the first national ranking in program history. To go along with that honor, ECCC's Sasha Clare (Belfast, United Kingdom) has been tabbed as the MACCC's Player of the Week.
Clare was pivotal in the Lady Warriors' wins over Northwest, Itawamba, and Gulf Coast. Against the Lady Rangers of Northwest, Clare netted a freekick from 35-yards out, before scoring the golden goal in overtime to take down the Lady Indians of Itawamba. The freshman closed out the week with a one-goal performance in a 2-0 shutout over the Lady Bulldogs.
"Sasha has worked very hard and is very deserving of this recognition," said ECCC head women's soccer coach Ryan Joiner. "She trains hard daily and puts in the time both on and off the field to continuously improve."
On the week as a whole, Clare posted 11 shots, with seven shots on goal, and three scores.
"It's an honor to be selected as conference player of the week. Our team has been working very hard as a whole and we are enjoying playing together...I love every part of the game, attacking and defending, but scoring goals has been fantastic and it has made this achievement even more exciting," said Clare. "I was so proud of the team last week against Itawamba as we all gave our full effort and no one gave up, and to score the winning goal just felt incredible. I hope the team continues to work hard, as it is paying off with us getting ranked for the first time."
The No. 18 Lady Warriors are back in action this Friday, April 23 as they put their 5-0-1 record against the No. 2 Lady Bulldogs of Holmes Community College who travel to Decatur. The match will be played at Bailey Stadium with a 1 p.m. kickoff.
