EMCC soccer teams set to begin MACCC play Friday by hosting Itawamba on Scooba campus
Following a handful of pre-conference matches, the East Mississippi Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams will begin the MACCC portion of their 2023 schedule by playing host to Itawamba Community College Friday evening (Sept. 15) on the Scooba campus. A scheduled 5 p.m. women’s match will be followed by a 7 p.m. men’s contest at EMCC’s Sullivan-Windham Field.
SCOOBA – Following a handful of pre-conference matches, the East Mississippi Community College men's and women's soccer teams will begin the MACCC portion of their 2023 schedule by playing host to Itawamba Community College Friday evening (Sept. 15) on the Scooba campus. A scheduled 5 p.m. women's match will be followed by a 7 p.m. men's contest at EMCC's Sullivan-Windham Field.
The EMCC men enter conference play with an official 1-3-0 overall record, while the women are officially 0-2-1, excluding an exhibition road doubleheader played at Belhaven University on Aug. 29.
"Learning what it takes to win in our league was always going to be our biggest hurdle to overcome as a new program," said first-year head coach Chris Rash, who guides both the reinstated EMCC men's and women's soccer programs in their first season back on the pitch since 2009.
After opening the season with a 2-2 tie against Tougaloo College, the EMCC women's team dropped shutout road decisions on consecutive Sundays to Southern Union State (4-0 on Sept. 3) and Alcorn State University (10-0 on Sept. 10).
"I'm very proud of our women's group and how they have come together as a team," Rash noted. "We are pushing each other daily in practice, and I'm excited to see where that takes us."
In the EMCC women's season-opening draw versus Tougaloo, Starkville's Lyna Driouche and Brookhaven's Maryanna Boyte both scored goals and assisted on the other scores to co-lead the team with three total points apiece for the year.
Following a season-opening 1-0 home loss to MUW on Aug. 18, the EMCC men claimed a 6-2 home victory over Tougaloo College two days later. Since then, the Lions have fallen at home to Holmes (4-0 on Aug. 25) and at Southern Union State Community College (3-1 on Sept. 3).
"I believe our guys have learned the necessary lessons from our early matches, and they are excited to prove it when conference play begins this week," Rash continued. "We have a group of young men who are motivated to work hard and make daily improvements."
Through their first four matches, the EMCC men are being led in scoring by Jose Bosmediano, from Ecuador, and Pearl River Central High School product Noah Verweij, who have five total points on the young season with two goals scored and one assist apiece. Bosmediano scored both of his goals during the Lions' 6-2 home victory over Tougaloo, as did Byhalia's Eduardo Vasquez, who follows with four points scored on the year.
Following Friday's conference openers against ICC, East Mississippi's soccer teams will travel to Region 23 foe LSU Eunice for a Sunday (Sept. 17) doubleheader (2 & 4 p.m.) against the Bengals. The EMCC Lions are then slated to resume MACCC soccer competition next week at home versus Pearl River on Tuesday (Sept. 19 @ 5 & 7 p.m.) and at Copiah-Lincoln on Friday (Sept. 22 @ 1 & 3 p.m.).