Women’s Soccer Climbing National Ranks

The Lady Choctaws are starting conference play 3-0 on the season.

In two weeks, the Mississippi College women’s soccer team went from being unranked to being ranked fifth in the country. The team is undefeated in regular season play and, consequently, has been climbing national rankings. Now, the Lady Choctaws will see if they can continue their winning streak in the Gulf South Conference.

In their opening week, the Lady Choctaws went on the road to beat nationally ranked #16 Nova Southeastern and Palm Beach Atlantic. They secured their first home victory against Texas A&M International on Wednesday, September 11. The team is currently sitting at #5 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II poll.

The Lady Choctaws huddle up during their first game against Texas A&M International. (Photo Credit: Haleigh Roberts)

Going into the season, the team obtained a preseason conference ranking of #3. Margherita Giubilato and Eduarda Silva were added to the All-GSC Preseason Team. In only the second week, Karah Boydstun earned Freshman of the Week for her performance against Texas A&M International. Silva also earned Player of the Week for the same game.

In addition to several seasoned returners, there are many new faces. With the addition of twelve new freshmen, the underclassmen make up the majority of the team with twenty-three players. 

Head Coach Darryl Longabaugh expressed pride in the team’s victories in Florida, highlighting their youth. Throughout the games, the team frequently had seven to eight underclassmen on the field simultaneously, with many of them making their collegiate debut.

“I have to give the upperclassmen credit for helping lead the way, and showing the freshman what they need to be doing,” Longabaugh said. “They know as well as anything we’ll go as far as our weakest link. If our freshmen and sophomores are the weakest link due to inexperience, then they have to step up and help them with that experience. Right now, they’re fitting in really well. They’re the type of players we’re looking for. They’re high quality on the field and high quality off the field.” 

The team has found early success and quickly climbed national ranks. Longabaugh believes it is largely due to beating two schools from the Sunshine Conference. He also says that the rankings are still early in the season, and he does not put too much stock in it. He did, however, mention the depth of their team helping in the ranking process. Longabaugh says they have been playing around twenty girls a game, something he considers unusual for them.

Their first conference game is in Pensacola against West Florida on Friday, September 20 at 5:00 P.M.