The East Central Community College soccer teams opened the regular season with road matches Aug. 22 at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, with the Lady Warriors grabbing a 5-1 win over the Lady Bulldogs, while the Warriors fell 7-2 to Gulf Coast in the opening match of the day.

The matches were played at Bary Thrash Field in Perkinston.

The ECCC Lady Warriors are 1-0 on the season, while the Warriors open 0-1.

In the women's action, the Lady Warriors scored three goals in the first half and two more in the second half in the big win. Scoring goals for East Central were sophomore midfielder Macey Spencer (Florence), freshman midfielder Madison Diers (South Jones), freshman Forward Hannah Herren (Florence), sophomore forward Leah Anderson (Leyland, United Kingdom), and freshman forward Brendaisha Garrett (Gautier). Anderson also had three assists, while Spencer and Diers had one each.

"An overall team performance from the Lady Warriors tonight against a tough MGCCC opponent," said ECCC Head Women's Coach Ryan Joiner. "We were very good in spurts in the first half and scored some great team goals. I'm very happy to come away from our first road trip with a win, five goals, and no major injuries. We are a long way from where we want to be, but the girls continue to build trust in our system and how we want them to play."

In the men's action, the Warriors could not overcome four goals from Gulf Coast freshman James Redmond in the loss. The two East Central goals came from freshman defender Nicky Palisi (Hancock), who was assisted by sophomore midfielder Joel Hill (Newton County), and from Hill on a free kick.

The East Central men will play a match at Andrew College in Cuthbert, Ga., beginning at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27. Both the Lady Warriors and Warriors will travel to Summit Friday, Aug. 30, for non-division matches against Southwest. The women play at 2 p.m. and the men at 4 p.m.

The home openers are scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 4, when Holmes visits Decatur for matches at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

The Lady Warriors celebrate a goal in their 5-1 win at Mississippi Gulf Coast Aug. 22. (Photo Courtesy MGCCC Athletics)