MCC Men Fall To PRCC

With every passing minute, it seemd like Meridian Community College was going to win an NJCAA Region 23 championship Saturday. Armed with a first-half goal and unbelievable play in net from keeper Marlo Brinnon, the Eagles seemed to be in good shape Saturday at Lamar School. However, Pearl River Community College had other ideas, rallying past the Eagles for a 2-1 win and the hardware.


“To be here, it’s quite an honor,” MCC coach Alex George said. “It was a game where I think we felt we had won there for a minute but they came in and we knew they were really good.”

That feeling began when Kellen Roberts scored in the 34th minute to give Meridian a 1-0 lead. And up until that point, it had been a game dominated by the Wildcats. However, time and time again, Brinnon was up to the challenge, keeping MCC (7-8-2) in the lead. That changed in the 62nd minute as PRCC (14-0) capitalized on a corner kick to tie it with a Ricky Henry goal, and then in the 87th minute, the Wildcats pushed ahead for the title win as Mike Allizzo scored.

“We took some chances and got stretched a little thin defensively,” George said. “They got behind us, but we’re proud of the effort we gave today.”

But the season isn’t over for MCC, which is still alive in the NJCAA postseason, traveling to Texas for the district tournament with a berth in the national tournament to be held in Albany, Ga., on the line.

MCC Women Fall In Title Game

Meridian Community College had been here before. But it didn’t make the result any easier. For the third straight season, the MCC women saw their dreams of an NJCAA Region 23 championship end with a 1-0 loss in the title game. It was Pearl River Community College that delivered the heartbreak Saturday at Lamar School.


“It’s tough,” MCC coach Mike Smith said. “It’s just a tough way to lose, but I’m very proud of the girls. They did more than I ever could have asked of them today.”

The Wildcats (12-2) and Eagles (12-5-1) engaged in a defensive struggle that remained scoreless at halftime. However, Kacy Mixon pushed a shot past MCC keeper Haley Hegwood in the 72nd minute to give Pearl River the lead. And after struggling most of the way to get its attack going, the Eagles responded after falling behind. However, several scoring chances in the final minutes came close but were unable to capitalize.

“I guess when they scored the goal we got a bit of urgency and we got a couple of really good chances,” Smith said. “It just wasn’t meant to be. But we’re going to hold our heads high.”

Pearl River hosts top-ranked Brevard (Fla.) College on Saturday for a trip to the national tournament in Melbourne, Fla.

MCC Men Advance To Title Game

From School Reports

Meridian Community College needed a win to keep its season alive and the Eagles used every ounce of effort to live to fight for the 2012 Region 23 Championship at Lamar School. MCC was able to outscore Holmes Community College 4-2 in penalty kicks to advance the men’s squad to the 2012 Region 23 Championship game. The game will be played Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Pearl River Community College.

“That is what the tradition at MCC is all about,” said MCC head coach Alex George. “We kept fighting the whole way and we never gave up. I am extremely proud of these young men and they represented MCC well today.”

Meridian (6-8-2) also earned a berth in the NJCAA Division I District Tournament at Tyler Junior College (TX) next weekend with the victory over Holmes Thursday afternoon.

The two teams battled to a tie after regulation and the game remained scoreless after a pair of overtime periods. The game would be ultimately be decided on penalty kicks and the Eagles would prevail by a final of 4-2. Sophomore Kellen Roberts put the game away with a goal on the final attempt by the Eagles after a pair of incredible saves by sophomore keeper Marlo Brinnon.

The Eagles will take on Pearl River for the second time this season after the Wildcats took a 1-0 victory over MCC back on September 25.

The MCC Lady Eagles will also be in action Saturday afternoon against Pearl River Community College in the Region 23 Championship game. The title game on the women’s side of the bracket is slated for a 1 p.m. start at Lamar School.

MCC Set To Host 2012 Region 23 Championship

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles and Eagles are both hoping for championship dreams to come true this week on the soccer field. Both squads will be competing for championship glory this week in the 2012 Region 23 Championships at Lamar School.

The MCC women have clinched a spot in the 2012 Region 23 Championship game which will be played Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. against Pearl River Community College. The two teams met once during the regular season with Pearl River taking a 4-1 victory over the Lady Eagles on September 25 at C.D. Smith Field. MCC will be looking to erase the memory of a 1-0 overtime loss in the Region 23 Championship game a year ago against Mississippi Gulf Coast.

“We’re excited about the Regions being held in Meridian and we’re also excited about the fact that if we win the Region 23 Championship, we will get to host the District Tournament next weekend,” said MCC women’s coach Mike Smith. “The women have had a good year and it feels great to be able to put yourself in a position to win the Region 23 Championship.”

Pam Gean and Kristen Morris lead the way for the Lady Eagles with 16 goals apiece heading into the title game. Morris was recently named the NJCAA National Player of the Week during the 2012 season for the Lady Eagles. Haley Hegwood will also look to continue her solid play at keeper this weekend for MCC after completing the regular season with 65 saves, while recording 10 shutouts in goal.

The Lady Eagles will enter the 2012 Region 23 Championship game against the Lady Wildcats with an overall record of 12-4-1.

Pearl River will enter the championship game against the Lady Eagles with a 10-2 overall record. The Lady Wildcats defeated Jones County Junior College 2-0 in the MACJC State Championship round to earn a spot in the Region 23 Championship game against Meridian.

Christina Gentry leads Pearl River with nine goals and Kacy Mixon collected four goals during the season for the Lady Wildcats according to the latest statistics available through the NJCAA.

The MCC men are scheduled to play Holmes Community College Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Eagles need a victory over HCC to earn a spot in the Region 23 men’s Championship game which will be played Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Pearl River.

“We have been preparing really hard this week and we hope to play our best soccer this week,” said MCC men’s soccer coach Alex George. “Everyone is healthy and we are looking for quality play out of our sophomores. We hope to get some early goals and limit our mistakes defensively. It should be a great game.”

The Eagles will enter the game against the Bulldogs with an overall record of 5-8-2. The two teams played twice during the regular season and split the two meetings. MCC defeated Holmes on September 19 at C.D. Smith Field by a final score of 2-1, while Holmes returned the favor with a 3-0 victory over the Eagles in Goodman, MS on October 12.

Kellen Roberts leads MCC into the tournament with five goals for the season, while Blake Hardin has collect three goals during the 2012 campaign according to the latest available statistics online provided by the NJCAA.

Holmes will enter the tournament with a 12-4-1 overall record and were defeated by Pearl River in the MACJC State Championship game by a final score of 4-2. The Bulldogs are led by James Cockrell with six goals, while Michael Orcutt has tallied five goals during the regular season for Holmes.