DECATUR, Miss. -  The Mississippi University for Women soccer teams each got in a pre-season tune-up match versus East Central Community College on Wednesday. No official results and statistics were applied to the Owls' ledger for the matches, which precede the season opener for both teams at home on Monday (Sept. 6) versus Louisiana College at the Columbus Soccer Complex.
 
(The women kickoff at 11 a.m., followed by the men at 1 p.m., on Monday.)
 
The common thread between The W women's and men's matches was the opportunity for the teams to actually get to compete versus someone other than their own teammates. It is a fact not lost with either of The W's head coaches.
 
"It was great playing against somebody other than ourselves yesterday," The W Head Men's Coach Louis Alexander reflected. "All in all, the boys played well with all things considered (first game, heat, turf field).  I felt we possessed the ball more and had more chances to score than ECCC, as well as followed the game plan minus a couple of breakdowns here and there.  Almost everyone got minutes which was nice to see as well. 
 
The Warriors and Owls men put on a defensive battle early, playing to a scoreless first half. ECCC tallied first in the 86th minute. The W's Stephon Walker lofted a perfect corner kick to teammate Jacob Vickers in the box. Vickers, who played at ECCC prior to transferring to The W, one-touched the corner from Walker past the ECCC goalkeeper to level to scrimmage at 1-1.
 
In the women's contest, ECCC netted a pair of goals in each half. The Owls amassed seven total saves in the scrimmage.
 
"There were a lot of positive and a lot of chances to grow in the scrimmage against a well put together team,", Owls Head Women's Coach Catie Lyles said. "We can now see what we need to work on as a group and individuals to set the team up for success during the regular season. The girls have battled these past 10 days. We got a late start due to quarantine the day before our preseason was set to begin. So it's awesome to see the girls putting in the extra work needed in ordered to succeed! We are looking forward to a great season."