POPLARVILLE, Miss. — It was a tale of two halves for the Pearl River women’s soccer team against Copiah-Lincoln Thursday night at the PRCC Soccer Complex. After finding itself in a 1-1 tie at the break, the Wildcats exploded for five goals in the second half to win 6-1.
“It was two different teams at each half. The first half was some of the worst soccer we have played all year,” head coach Henrik Madsen said. “We made some adjustments and fixed some things at halftime. When we started back up, it was a totally different team.”
Pearl River (3-1-1 overall; 2-0 MACCC) tacked on its first goal in the 16th minute. Anna Grace Deakle (Gulfport) delivered a beautiful ball up the formation to the sprinting Ally Stiglets (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove). She took a slight tough before firing a shot off the goalkeeper’s hands and into the back of the net, 1-0.
Despite the early goal, PRCC played sloppy the rest of the opening half against Copiah-Lincoln (1-2-1; 1-1), allowing the Wolves to equalize in the 42nd minute after a defensive miscue.
The Wildcats were a different team in the second half, as they constantly got numbers up the field and into the box. PRCC moved in front in the 50th minute. Copiah-Lincoln was called for a handball inside the penalty box, and Frederikke Nielsen (Randers, Denmark; Randers Statsskole) stepped to the spot and knocked it home, 2-1.
Abby Badurak (Gulfport) ended her early-season goal-scoring drought in the 33rd minute. A ball into the box hit off Haylie Alvarez (Gulfport; St. Patrick) and bounced out to the Southern Miss transfer, Badurak. Her first shot smacked off the far post but rebounded right back out to her, and she made the second attempt count, 3-1.
“Hopefully, this goal will release her stress a little, so she can just go out and play,” Madsen said. “We know she’s one of the best strikers in the league.”
Pearl River’s lead extended to 4-1 in the 71st minute as the Wolves knocked in an own goal. PRCC added a fifth goal in the 77th minute, 5-1. Holly Jones (Liverpool, England) dribbled her way into the box before dishing a pass off to Alvarez, who fired a shot into the back of the net on her first touch.
PRCC’s final goal came with less than a minute left in the match. Emily Taylor (Laurel; Homeschool) pushed down the right side of the field and sent a perfect cross to the crashing Alvarez. The sophomore forward got just enough direction on the ball to send it into the back of the net, 6-1.
“Haylie is really good up front,” Madsen said. “Her movement is good, she gets in the box and she gets between the defenders. It wasn’t really a surprise to see her score two goals.”
UP NEXT
Pearl River hits the road Tuesday for one of its biggest matches of the year, traveling to Senatobia to take on No. 1 Northwest. The contest is set for a 5 p.m. kickoff. The match will be livestreamed at NWCCRangers.com/watch.
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