The Bobcats had an impressive men’s soccer season this fall by claiming MACCC conference success, ranking seventh nationally and making the Region-23 final.
Initially ranked 14th in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, Jones had a mountainous task at hand to prove their true potential. With conference play beginning shortly, the men’s team had tough encounters with conference rivals Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Pearl River Community College during their preseason games. With both games ending in close losses, Gulf Coast 2-1 and Pearl River 6-5, the Bobcats would meet these two teams again later on their road to conference victory.
The men’s soccer team began their conference play against Northwest resulting in a 6-0 opening victory. The Bobcats continued to demonstrate their undeniable talent and teamwork as they shutout Holmes, winning 4-0. Week one of conference play for the Bobcats could not have gone any better as they continued their momentum into week two with games against East Central and Hinds. The Bobcats once again sealed victory over East Central 4-0, but were deadlocked after the full 90 minutes against Hinds to be forced to a 0-0 tie.
The Bobcat’s conference record now stood at 3-0-1 with upcoming games at Copiah-Lincoln, resulting in a 2-0 win and hosting the Southwest Bears on home soil at Ellisville. Jones left it late with a Lawson Harvey goal in the 89th minute to go ahead of the Bears, yet this standing was not long held as Southwest immediately came back 20 seconds later to end the game, equalizing 1-1. Still undefeated, the Bobcats travelled to Fulton to face Itawamba and begin their four-game-away streak. Jones’s 2-0 win over Itawamba gave Head Coach Brendan Connolly his 100th career win and a major move up for the team in the national rankings as they sat in 11th awaiting their game against Meridian.
“We had a strong connection, and all believed and knew each other’s abilities with the same goal in mind,” said team captain Cameron Chamberlain, as the possibility of the MACCC conference title became evermore tangible.
Under the guidance of Chamberlain and the tactics of Connolly, Jones claimed victory over the Meridian Eagles 2-0, moving the Bobcats up by one in the rankings to tenth. Jones further demonstrated their attacking dominance with a staggering display against East Mississippi as they executed a 14-0 victory consisting of 10 different goal scorers. Jones was set to face their final two conference games against their toughest battles yet, the first being against Pearl River who they had lost to in preseason. With a 3-1 victory in their penultimate game, Jones had caused an upset in Poplarville and soared in the rankings three places to seventh as they faced sixth-seeded Gulf Coast in their final game and the opportunity to win the conference title.
To seal the title Jones just had to either win or tie the match. As the 49th minute approached, Matt Reed slotted the Bobcats ahead from an Xabier Souto-Rodriguez assist to put the MACCC title closer to its home in Ellisville. Jones dominated the first half, finishing with seven shots on goal compared to Gulf Coasts’ two off-target. With the second half underway, Jones was 45 minutes away from earning their fifth MACCC title in seven seasons under Head Coach Connolly. The Jones Bobcats held strong until the 75th minute when Gulf Coast struck their only shot on target of the night past goalkeeper Brax Rials.
As the final whistle was blown the Bobcats had earned the conference title with a stellar season performance and a final record of 8-0-3.
“We are proud of our season. To win the MACCC was a great accomplishment and to do it undefeated shows how consistent the lads were,” said Connolly. “This was our fifth MACCC title in seven seasons, so we are looking forward to add to that next year.”
By winning the conference the Bobcats had landed the opportunity to host the Region 23 tournament and automatically receive a place in the semi-finals. With their sights set on continuing their winning streak, Jones opened their tournament account against opponent Hinds. Luke Dickinson opened the scoring after just six minutes to put the Bobcats up 1-0. Hinds soon responded with a header to tie up the game. A brace by Dickinson just before halftime allowed Jones to come out in the second half up 3-1. Hinds responded well, scoring in both the 51st and 58th minute to equalise the game. However, even after his hattrick Dickinson’s involvement in the game was not over as his rebounded shot perfectly set up Dylan Dykes in the 73rd minute for Jones to finally put the game away as they earned their spot in the Region 23 final.
Jones knew their final contest of the tournament was to be a difficult one as they were tasked with the Pearl River Wildcats as opponents. Results had shown that both teams were equally as good as one another, and each meeting would always be a closely-contested game. As the first half drew to a close both the Bobcats and Wildcats had opportunities at either end to give their team the advantage. Going into the second half however none of these prevailed, and the teams walked at halftime 0-0. An early goal by the Wildcats started their second half off strongly while the Bobcats were trying relentlessly to provide an equalizer. As the 70th minute struck, the game took a discouraging turn for Bobcat fans as the Wildcats charged forth, adding an extra two goals to their total. The Bobcats were down 3-0, yet in the 85th minute a consolation goal by Parker Sellers ended the Bobcats’ tournament run with a 3-1 loss.
“I think this year as a team we performed well. Only conceding three goals all conference was something to be proud of,” said Chamberlain. “The conference win is bittersweet. We had the moment of winning and celebrating, but the state tournament was a goal of ours from the start, and we fell short of that leading to not going to the national tournament. It makes it hard to celebrate one of our three goals that we set out.”
Although a disheartening end to their season, the men’s soccer team still has hope to continue their conference success as Connolly preps for next fall. There still will be the three main goals of the season as Bobcat fans hope to see Jones return to the region final and compete for a place in the National Tournament.
“We are already looking forward to next year and are very excited about the incoming players we have already signed,” said Connolly.
Andie “Boo” Mills
