MERIDIAN – Ninth-ranked Jones College responded to its first loss of the season in emphatic fashion Tuesday night, getting two goals apiece from Braden Buchanan and Calvin Harrison in a convincing 4-0 shutout of Meridian at C.D. Smith Field.
The Bobcats (13-1-2, 7-1-1 MACCC) bounced back from last week's 4-1 setback to No. 7 Pearl River, a loss that snapped their 16-match home unbeaten streak and handed Jones its first defeat of the year.
Meridian dropped to 10-4-1 overall and 6-2-1 in conference play.
After a relatively quiet opening 30 minutes, Buchanan put the Bobcats in front for good in the 31st minute, finishing a feed from Mario Novaku to give Jones a 1-0 advantage.
The score remained unchanged at halftime before Jones took complete control with two goals in a four-minute span early in the second half.
Harrison doubled the lead in the 55th minute off an assist from Jackson Warren, and Buchanan followed in the 58th minute with his second goal of the evening, this time taking a pass from Harrison to make it 3-0.
Harrison capped the scoring in the 84th minute, completing his brace off an assist from Buchanan to provide the final margin.
Both Buchanan and Harrison finished with five points on two goals and an assist, accounting for all four Jones goals in the victory.
After being limited to just four shots in the opening half, the Bobcats turned up the offensive pressure over the final 45 minutes, outshooting Meridian 11-6 and earning seven second-half corner kicks.
Jones finished with a 15-11 advantage in shots and a 7-2 edge in corners.
Freshman goalkeeper Logan Correro recorded four saves over 90 minutes to preserve the clean sheet, including two stops in each half. Meridian's William Dickerson finished with five saves in the loss.
Jones returns home Friday, Oct. 23, to host Itawamba in a 7 p.m. MACCC matchup at the Bobcat Soccer Complex.
Tickets are $8 at jcbobcats.com/tickets. Price increases to $10 cash/$11 card at the gate. The match will be live streamed at jcbobcat.com/watch.
