Anna Grace Deakle (Gulfport) moves the ball up from the backline. (Grace Kesler/PRCCAthletics)
SUMMIT, Miss. — It was nearly a two-week layoff for the No. 11 Pearl River women’s soccer team, but the Wildcats didn’t let it bother them too much as they returned to action by taking down Southwest 1-0 in their MACCC opener.
“Southwest is always organized and well coached, so they are hard to break down,” head coach Henrik Madsen said. “With us having not played in two weeks, we struggled to get into a rhythm with the way they play. We got a nice goal and saw the match out.
“We still missed some chances. We are really good until we get into the box then we just aren’t sharp enough. That’s something we will keep working on and trying to fix.”
ABOUT THE MATCH
Pearl River (2-1-1 overall; 1-0 MACCC) peppered Southwest (3-2-2; 0-1) with chances in the opening portion of the night and finally broke through in the 14th minute. Marieke Faber (Britsum, Netherlands; Leeuwarder Lyceum) created the chance by dribbling up the right side and into the box. She quickly fired a pass across and into the middle of the box for Alli Shemper (Biloxi) and the midfielder promptly knocked it home, 1-0.
In the 35th, PRCC had an additional opportunity as the Wildcats quickly moved the ball up the pitch and eventually got the ball to the feet of Abby Badurak (Gulfport). The Southern Miss transfer made a great pass forward, but it was cut off by a Bear defender just before a nearby Wildcat could get on the end of it.
Pearl River continued to push to build on its lead in the second half. With about 10 minutes left in the match, Haylie Alvarez (Gulfport; St. Patrick) had a solid opportunity to fire off a shot, but quick reactions from a Bear defender knocked the attempt away.
PRCC got a bit lucky in the 83rd minute as Southwest hunted the equalizer. The Bears hit Pearl River with a counterattack and drove straight down the field and into the right side of the box. SMCC had a trailing attacker and tried to fire a pass back, but the ball sailed between everyone and was cleared by the Wildcats.
The chance was the final one of the match for the Bears and PRCC held on to take the contest.
UP NEXT
Pearl River will be back at the PRCC Soccer Complex on Friday for a 5 p.m. match against Copiah-Lincoln.
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).
