SENATOBIA, Miss. — Hitting the road for a four-plus hour drive could have been detrimental to the No. 10 Pearl River men’s soccer team, but the Wildcats didn’t let it bother them, bashing Northwest 4-0 on its home turf.
“They’re a very well-coached group up here,” head coach Drew Gallant said. “They were so organized defensively and gave us issues. We picked a few passes out and opened up some pockets. We created even more opportunities but didn’t have the sharpest finishing tonight.”
The Rangers (1-6-2 overall; 0-3 MACCC) kept Pearl River (6-2-1; 3-0) off the scoresheet for the first 20 minutes of the night before getting called for a handball inside the box in the 23rd minute. Just like it always does, PRCC sent Tiago Honorio Jr. (São Paulo, Brazil) out to take the penalty kick. The sophomore slowly trotted up to the ball and sent it past the goalkeeper, 1-0.
Honorio Jr. used his height to pick up his second goal of the night. Sebastian Kristensen (Randers, Denmark) sent a ball flying into the box, and Honorio Jr. used his 6-foot-4 frame to go up in the air and head a ball into the back of the net, 2-0.
Pearl River’s Danish connection increased the lead to 3-0 in the 72nd minute. Emil Corfitzen (Copenhagen, Denmark) dished off a pass to Noah Fazal (Vaerloese, Denmark) for a tap-in goal. The assist was Corfitzen’s ninth of the season.
Honorio Jr. made it back-to-back hat tricks in the 87th minute. The NJCAA All-American took the ball straight up the pitch and sent a shot attempt into the back of the net for his third of the night and a 4-0 lead. The goal was Honorio Jr.’s 11th of the season through nine games.
PRCC was great on the defensive end on the night, earning its second clean sheet of the season.
“We had a lot of possession, so that really helped us defensively,” Gallant said. “That’s when we usually get caught sleeping. We were much better about being switched on for the counterattack and not giving up too many chances tonight.”
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to the PRCC Soccer Complex Friday for a 7 p.m. match against Meridian.
TICKETING
Tickets are on sale now at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. Tickets purchased in advance are $8. Tickets purchased on gameday are $10. Season passes can be purchased for $56.
TUNE IN
All Pearl River home soccer games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the “Pearl River CC” channel from their app stores.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
