East Mississippi Community College soccer standouts Nikeisha Noel and Leonardo Reyes have earned 2009 NJCAA All-Region 23 honors, as voted on by the head soccer coaches of the Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges (MACJC).
A repeat all-region selection, Noel ranked second among the MACJC’s North Division scorers as a sophomore with 31 points despite being hampered late in the season by a sprained ankle.
The 5-foot-7 midfielder/forward from San Fernando, Trinidad tallied 13 goals and five assists for head coach Junior Noel’s 2-10-1 Lady Lions this past season. She had a pair of multi-goal efforts on the year, including a school-record eight scores in EMCC’s season-opening 12-0 home triumph over East Central.
Ranking among the national scoring leaders a year ago with 19 goals and 42 points as an all-region freshman, Noel completed her two-year EMCC career with 73 points on 32 goals and nine assists. She recorded seven multi-goal outings during her two years in Scooba, including five career hat tricks.
Reyes, from Arima, Trinidad, finished his sophomore campaign tied for the MACJC North Division lead with 33 points on 14 goals and five assists. The 5-foot-11, 160-pound midfielder/forward registered four multi-goal games this past fall in helping pace head coach Junior Noel’s 5-11 Lions to the program’s winningest season since 2001.
Earlier this season, Reyes was named the NJCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Player of the Week after totaling seven goals and two assists, including a hat trick in the season opener against East Central, to spark the Lions to a 3-0 start on the year.
During his two years on the Scooba campus, Reyes completed his EMCC career with 45 total points on 19 goals and seven assists. He also led the Lions in scoring his freshman year with a dozen points on five goals and a pair of assists.