Kelley’s hat trick leads ICC past Co-Lin 8-1

Kelley's hat trick leads ICC past Co-Lin 8-1
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON, MS – Freshman striker Alyssa Kelley (Saltillo) led Itawamba Community College's impressive offensive display Tuesday, scoring a hat trick to help the Lady Indians net their first win of the season 8-1 over Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

"It feels good to get in the win column," said ICC assistant coach Cody Carson. "The girls out with a mindset that they weren't going to lose today. Hopefully that is something we'll be able to carry over week-to-week as we start division play."

The Lady Indians (1-3; 0-0 MACJC North) broke open the scoreless contest at the 27th minute when Kelley found the back of the net for her first goal of the day and drove home her second goal in the 32nd minute to take a 2-0 lead.

"We had some chances early, but Co-Lin did a good job not allowing us to take advantage," Carson said. "Then it just seemed like all the sudden things opened up for us offensively once Alyssa was able to score back-to-back goals."

Sophomore striker Randi Stevens (New Albany) but the Lady Indians up 3-0 at the break with a goal in the 35th minute.

"It was a different team than we were used to seeing at halftime," Carson said. "They had a lot of energy and were ready to get back on the field as soon as they got off the field. It's that kind of energy we need to see each time we take the field."

Freshman forward Carley Burns (Lewisburg) added two quick goals to start the second half as ICC took a 5-0 lead before Co-Lin could manage their first goal of the game midway through the second half. Sophomore midfielder Demi Menotti (New Hope) scored on a header before Kelley added her third goal of the day to record her first-ever collegiate hat trick.  

"We challenged the girls to see who could step into the role as a scorer," commented Carson. "Not only did Alyssa step up to that challenge by recording the hat trick, we had five different players score goals."

Freshman midfielder Hannah Miller (Warren Central) added a long-range goal while Sophia Timm (Columbus), Lexi Black (Saltillo), Annalee Jaggars (Saltillo), Miranda Chapman (Saltillo), and Erica Wigginton (Tishomingo County) all had assists in the win.

Freshmen keepers Mary Margaret Swain (New Hope) and Emily Munn (Pontotoc) split time in net for the Lady Indians with Swain recording a save and allowing a goal while Munn had two saves.

"I felt like today was a good team effort," Carson said. "We you look at the box score you'll see a lot of names that contributed to the win. Unfortunately, the box score doesn't show how well we played defensively. I felt like we communicated better and played one of our better defensive games as a team that we've played so far this season."

The win broke a three-game losing streak for the Lady Indians.

"The girls deserved the win," said Carson. "They started the season with one of the toughest schedules a team could face and instead of just giving up when times were tough they stepped up and kept working to get better."

The Lady Indians will open MACJC North Division play on the road against Hinds Community College on Friday.

"This is going to be a big match for us," Carson commented. "It'll be our second road trip of the season against a very good team. Hopefully today's win helped give the girls the confidence that we need to bring home a win."

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