POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The No. 11 Pearl River women’s soccer team took care of business Sunday afternoon against National Park, bombarding the Nighthawks with goals in a 10-0 victory.
“It was a little slow from us in the first half,” head coach Henrik Madsen said. “The ball moved slightly quicker when they came back out for the second half. Once we started to put a couple into the goal, it was hard for them to keep their energy up, and we put it away.”
The first goal of the day came in the 16th minute. Marieke Faber (Britsum, Netherlands; Leeuwarder Lyceum) sent a ball flying into the box that was headed home by Emily Taylor (Laurel; Homeschool), 1-0.
The lead doubled in just a few minutes before the first half ended. Sophomore midfielder Chloe Ezell (Ocean Springs) saw a bit of space and sent a shot flying from deep. The goalkeeper went up to save it, and the ball hit her hands and went into the net, 2-0.
Just before the first half ended, PRCC went up 3-0. Faber chipped a ball into the box that found Yazmin Humphrey (Lucedale; George County). The freshman got possession of the ball and passed back across to Frederikke Niselsen (Randers, Denmark; Randers Statsskole) for an easy tap-in goal.
After struggling a little to capitalize on its chances in the first half, Pearl River came alive in the second half. In the 47th minute, Jessica Lawrence (Ocean Springs) fought for possession and passed off to Holly Jones (Liverpool, England) for a goal, 4-0.
The Wildcats made it 5-0 in the 52nd minute off a great lineup between Taylor and Abby Badurak (Gulfport). Taylor crossed a ball into the box that just missed the diving National Park goalkeeper and found the foot of Badurak.
The lead grew to 6-0 in the 53rd minute. Emily Boles (Gulfport) sent a ball into the box that NPC attempted to head away. The ball landed at the feet of the crashing Nielsen, and she smacked it home.
Nielsen picked up her hat trick in the 56th, getting a pass from Haylie Alvarez (Gulfport; St. Patrick), taking it straight up the field, and putting it past the keeper, 7-0.
Alvarez turned into the goal scorer shortly after. Jones fired a shot that the Nighthawk keeper saved. Luckily, Alvarez was in the area and finished off the chance 8-0.
Jones picked up another assist in the 63rd minute, crossing a ball into the box for Badurak. The Southern Miss transfer finished off the chance on the first touch, 9-0.
Alvarez added her second goal of the day in the 65th minute. After firing a shot that the NPC goalkeeper saved, it rebounded right back out to her, and she finished it off 10-0.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats will be off on Tuesday before returning to action Friday for a 5 p.m. match against National Park.
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).
