2004

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"They're all good guys," Thompson said. ''And I've got a couple of guys that were with me in the spring, so it's like they were returning players." Thompson said the strength of thb year's squad will be the inside positions. "Ryan Stewart is our team captain. He played a marking back last year, but he's going to move over to $weeper this year," Thompson said. "David Prewitt will be our center-mid. He will be aver$' good player for us along with our forwards Diego Perez and Jose Castillo. "We feel real good about the middle of the field. We're going to work on trying to use the full width of the field. so we've got

Team members Ragan De t lopez. Oan:e Wa e cah Lamer, Jose CasU o David Prewm. Trey White· head, Lu s Araya Ryan Stewart, Jared We1r, Kyle Vowe O~ego Perez Zach Jomer, Austin Herring:on Zach K patrick ECCe ·starts season this weekend DECATl"R - The East Centra£ Community College Warriors open their 2004 soccer season Saturday at home when they take on the Lions of East Mississippi Community College. The match gets under way at 11- am. While sixth-year ECCC head coach Kenneth Thompson • • returns only four players from last year's squad that finished 7-11 overall and 3-7 in the MAC]C South Divi– sion, he is opti– mistic the 2004 Wctrriors will be a competitive team. "There were only a couple of games last year that we were beat in," Thompson said. "In the rest, we actu– ally had a chance all the way to the final buzzer. "We're hoping to be competitive again this year with this group. Their work ethic has been good so far. "I am looking forward to competi– tive matches early on in lhe season that we can do well in so that we can build our confidence for the more • challenging division matches later on. We wan1 to make a run at a playoff spot, but as usual, the South Division will be a tough challenge for all the teams." . Returnees from last year are sweeper Ryan Stewart, goal keeper Ragan.Denham, forward Jose Castillo, and rnidfielder Luis Araya. Another sophomore is center mid– fielder David Prewitt, a transfer from Meridian Community College. By Marty Stamper .,taft wr,ter

district tournament. They lost, a l?t of pl~ers and their coach. But they II still be very, very talented, so they're probably still the team to beat. . "Gulf Coast will be strong. It's JUSt a dogfight in the South. Last year we en~ed our season by beating Gulf Coast. wh1ch was our first time_to beat them. They ~ad won the division three or four years m a row and were still good last year, so we were proud of thal . . "Meridian and Jones will have quality teams again." Thompson said Hind_s. should repeat as North Division champiOns, an~ e~pec~s the remaining North teams to fimsh m this order: Holmes, N_or~h~e~t. Delta, Itawamba. and East :\11SSISSIPPI.

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to have some outside players come on and produce. We've really concentrated in pr-dc– tit'e working on our wings trying to get our attack built. If they come on, we'Jl be fine because we'll be solid in the middle. "I believe the fans will see another dassic Warrior soccer team on the field. By that I mean that these players wiiJ,play t•xtrcmely hard for all 90 minutes of <'~ry match no matter the score, whether they are up by a lot or a little, or down by a lot or little. They will plav like Warriors." Thompson <'Xpects familiar faces to be CAR" atop the leadcrboard in the MACJC soccer divisions NESI "Pearl River won the state and the Rq~ion (2:~) and lost a close match in the NEW MERIDIAN STAR"""""/~----­ CLARION-LEDGER-- --- -

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