Eight MCC Soccer players receive All-MACCC honors

MERIDIAN — Eight MCC soccer earned multiple All-MACCC honors Thursday.

Six Lady Eagles earned All-MACCC honors after their impressive season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Meri Laci Archer (Starkville, MS) was named first-team All- MACCC South Division. Archer stopped 112 shots this season which helped lead the Lady Eagles to the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. Head coach Mike Smith said. " Meri is very deserving of this honor. She was one of if not the best GK in our conference all year. We will have some big shoes to fill this next season."

Sophomore defender Olivia Lambkin (Sydney Australia) and freshman defender Haylee Dial (Collinsville, MS) were named second-team MACCC All-State South Division.

Lambkin and Dial solidified the backline for the Lady Eagles, which only allowed 15 goals this season which was the fourth-fewest in the MACCC. 

Head coach Mike Smith said, "I'm very happy for Liv, and I think she earned it. A lot of stuff she does doesn't show up in the stats but she was our anchor in the back for the past 2 seasons. I'm happy that she is getting some recognition." Smith added, " Haylee had a great freshman year and was a lockdown defender all season. We are excited she has another year with us. She is definitely worthy of this award."

Also honored by the MACCC were freshman Addisyn Pope (Collinsville, MS) and sophomores Clara Allen (Caledonia, MS) and Clarie Benson (Caledonia, MS), who received honorable mention. Coach Smith said, "Congratulations to these 3 for getting Honorable Mention. All 3 are fantastic players and could've easily been 1st or 2nd team, but that shows you how good our league is from top to bottom."

The Lady Eagles finished the season 7-8-2 after a loss in the MACCC Quarterfinals.

Two men's soccer players received two All-MACCC honors as well.

Felipe Pansica (San Palo, Brazil) and Caleb Montiforte (Ocean Springs, MS) were named Second-Team All-MACCC South Division.   

Pansica scored 5 goals and assisted on 4 more from the midfield position for the Eagles this season. Head Coach Sam Wilson said, "Felipe was an excellent midfielder for us this season. His creativity on the ball helped us in going forward all year."

Montiforte was a solid defender for the Eagles backline. Head coach Sam Wilson said, "Caleb showed outstanding leadership and was the perfect choice for team captain."

The Eagles spent seven consecutive weeks ranked in the NJCAA DII top 20, and finished the season 8-6-1.