ICC Women’s Football Preview: Youth Squad Appears To Make Playoff Push – Picayune Item

ICC Women’s Soccer Preview: Youth Squad Appears To Make Playoff Push

Published Monday 15 August 2022 11:08 am

FULTON, Miss. – Itawamba Community College women’s soccer fans will see plenty of new faces on the pitch, while a small but solid core of sophomores expect to lead the Lady Indians back to the playoffs this season.

schedule breakdown
The Lady Indians will host nine home tournaments, including five conference games against Southwest Mississippi (Sept. 16), Gulf Coast (Sept. 27), Jones (Oct. 7), Holmes (Oct. 18), and East Central (Oct . Oct.). ). Other home games include Southwest Tennessee (August 22), Mineral Area (August 28), Hinds (September 9), and Columbia State (September 18). Conference road matches include Co-Lin (Sept. 23), Meridian (Sept. 30), Pearl River (Oct. 4), Hinds (Oct. 14) and Northwest (Oct. 21).

All home games are scheduled to be streamed on LetsGoICCTV.com – weather permitting.

key return
Brianna Huckaby (Saltillo) returns after leading the team with five goals and being named a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) First Team All-Region. Emma Logan (Fulton), Madison Copeland (Tupelo) and Abby Earwood (Tupelo) are all expected to have bigger roles on and off the court this season. The Lady Indians picked up a transfer keeper from Blue Mountain College in Inna Vannual (Lahit, Finland). She led the team with 95 saves and 2 shutouts in 10 starts as a freshman.

Important newcomers
Manager David Strother welcomed 13 new faces to the squad and all are expected to play and contribute immediately this season. Jenna Claire Johnson (Fulton), Lillian McDonald and Macey Riggs (Hernando), Julia Benneckenstein (Principality, Liechtenstein), Beth Lloyd (Failworth, England), Esme Kilburn-Thompson (East Budleigh, England), Camryn Summerall (Brookhaven), Jordan Allen (Ridgeland), Macie Williams (Amory), Adelin Mathis (Mooreville), Addison Pletzke (Clinton), Briana Benton (Florence) and Megan Davis (Guntown) will all be competing for a spot on the starting lineup during preseason practice.

New MACCC playoff format
This is the first season in which the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) does not compete in the traditional North and South divisions and does not hold a conference tournament. The No. 1 regular-season team becomes conference champions and earns a bye to the semifinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 tournament. The teams finishing second, third, and fourth in the regular season will respectfully receive fifth, sixth, and seventh teams in the quarterfinals. The men’s champion will host the women’s and men’s Region 23 tournaments this season.