Women's Soccer | 11/2/2024 2:35:00 PM

Kayla Jones placed her name on the score sheet five times, and the Clinton Lady Arrows downed the Oxford Lady Chargers 5-3 on a sunny Saturday at Arrow Field. It was Clinton's regular-season opener and a rematch of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 7A quarterfinal.

"Obviously, I am very happy with our chance creation and finishing today," Clinton Head Women's Soccer Coach Elliot Rimmer said. "But, we have to be cleaner defensively and in the midfield -- that's why it's a long season. Having so many fresh faces, on the field, we know it will take us a few games to cut out the silly mistakes and start to consistently perform at a level that's up to our standard."

Jones opened her account when Kate Crisler slipped her a through ball in between Oxford defenders. Jones dribbled the ball to the right and slotted her shot past the goalkeeper. Then, Jones finished off a Ja'Milah Williams assist, helping the Lady Arrows take a 2-1 advantage into the intermission.

In the last 40 minutes, Jones started a flurry of scoring in the second half's opening seven minutes as the two teams combined for three goals. The junior blasted an errant Oxford defensive clearance into the top left corner of the net from 30 yards away, and then, she expertly finished off Crisler's beautiful, in-swinging free kick with a volley off her laces for a 4-2 lead.

Jones iced the game as she scored once more on a breakaway, giving the Lady Arrows their three-goal advantage.

"Anytime a singular player scores five goals, it's worth giving special attention," Rimmer said. "Kayla is deserving of that attention because the time and effort she puts in to being the best that she can be. Seeing players like Kate and Kayla link up so many times to create chances speaks volumes of the relationships these girls have off of the field, and how that can translate to on-field success."

UP NEXT

The Lady Arrows play their first road game of the season as they travel to Ridgeland High School. Clinton and Ridgeland kick off the match at 5:30 p.m.