By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
Sept. 11, 2003
Meridian Community College head soccer coach Alex George could not have scripted a better home opener for his teams if he tried.
The Eagles (4-0) and Lady Eagles (2-4) both won their home openers recording shut outs against the Mississippi Delta Community College Trojans and Lady Trojans on Wednesday.
The women's team notched a 3-0 victory in the opening match of the two-game evening, and the men scored a 5-0 win.
The Lady Eagles took a little time to get the ball in the back of the net against the Lady Trojans.
After dominating most of the play in the first half, the MCC women didn't record its first goal until 11:55 remained on the clock.
Forward Lyndsey Junkin tallied the Lady Eagles' first goal of the game on the team's second shot. The sophomore broke away down the right wing and powered the ball past the Lady Trojans' goal keeper into the left side of the net.
The MCC women quickly followed up Junkin's score with another goal just under two minutes later.
Junkin hit a crossing pass to forward Katie Bergin in the middle of MDCC's net. Bergin lifted the ball over the Lady Trojans goal keeper's head, and the shot slipped into the goal under the cross bar for a 2-0 advantage, with 9:24 left in the first half.
Cheri D. Wilson scored the Lady Eagles final goal with just over 13 minutes left in the game. The midfielder dribbled the ball in from the left side of the net and powered a shot through the goal keeper's hands to produce the final margin of victory.
In the men's contest, the Eagles tallied their first goal with 25:24 left in the opening half, after blasting the Trojans' defense throughout the opening 20 minutes, but the team's shots kept going wide, over the net or hitting the cross bar.
Benton Dufour changed MCC's shooting jinx scoring on a shot from just inside the goal box into the left corner of the net.
Dufour struck again early in the second half, scoring just 47 seconds into the game's final 45 minutes on a crossing pass.
Andrew Culpepper tallied MCC's third goal, gathering a rebound from a shot by Bryan Bledsoe that bounced off the right post. Culpepper corralled the loose ball and slipped it into an open left side of the MDCC net.
Justion Culpepper added another goal for the Eagles on a head ball for a 4-0 lead with 12:46 left in the game, and Nic Cagle scored the final goal after the Trojans' goal keeper couldn't handle a crossing pass in front of the net.
The MCC men's team takes on No. 8 Young Harris at 5 p.m. today. The men's and women's team will both be in action on Saturday, with the Lady Eagles playing Shelton State at 4 p.m., and the Eagles taking on East Central Community College at 6 p.m.