The East Central Community College men's and women's soccer teams lost a pair of preseason exhibition matches by identical scores at Meridian Community College Friday, Aug. 17.

The Lady Warriors fell to the Meridian Lady Eagles 2-1 in the opening match of the night. East Central fell behind 2-0 in the first half and could not recover.

The lone Lady Warrior goal came on a penalty kick from sophomore midfielder Carrington Payne out of Richland High School.

"The game was there to be won, but the positives are that the girls came back without any major injuries and had success going forward with 18 shots; however, only five were on frame so we have to be more clinical in front of the net," said ECCC head women's soccer coach Ryan Joiner.

The Lady Warriors open the regular season on Wednesday, Aug. 22, when they travel to Memphis to face Southwest Tennessee Community College at 2 p.m., before traveling to Ellisville on Friday, Aug. 24, to face Jones County Junior College at 5 p.m.

In the men's action that followed, the Warriors got a goal from sophomore midfielder Francisco Romero of Ripley in the second minute of the match but could not hold on in the 2-1 loss. The Eagles got two scores of their own in the first half and then held on for the win.

The Warriors have one final preseason exhibition match when Mississippi University for Women visits Decatur Wednesday, Aug. 22, at 5 p.m. The regular season begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 24, at Jones County Junior College.