PENSACOLA, Fla. — There were no freshman jitters in the season opener for the No. 15 Pearl River women's soccer team Thursday night.
The Wildcats went on the road and bashed No. 20 Pensacola State 8-1, with all eight goals coming off the foot of a newcomer.
"It was nice to see the energy that they (freshmen) bring to the game," head coach Henrik Madsen said. "They have a high press nature and have shown a willingness to buy in across the board. It's going to be a fun year to watch them grow and have success.
"We executed really well in the attacking phase, and our defending was great, too. We allowed only one shot on goal all night."
The first Pearl River (1-0 overall) goal of the night came in the 12th minute as local product Addy Grace Alexander (Poplarville) turned an Alesha Gale (Rotherham, England) pass into her first goal of her Wildcat career.
In the 35th minute, Julia Hoffman (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy) blew by the Pensacola State (0-1) defenders to double the advantage, 2-0, sending the Wildcats into the half with the lead.
Hoffman kept rolling after the break. Off a corner kick from Holly Jones (Liverpool, England), the ball was knocked down into the box, and Hoffman buried a left-footed strike at the near post to make it 3-0. Moments later, Gale slipped a pass ahead for Hoffman, who calmly finished to complete her hat trick and push the lead to 4-0.
The scoring kept coming when Hoffman turned provider, heading a pass beyond the Pensacola back line for Margaret Compretta (Waveland; Our Lady Academy). Compretta broke free, controlled the ball, and fired home the Wildcats' fifth.
PRCC's defensive pressure set up the sixth goal of the night, as the Wildcats forced a turnover deep in the Pirate end. Ida Lillebæk (Vejle, Denmark) pounced on the loose ball and finished to make it 6-0.
In the 63rd minute, Shyla Nguyen (Long Beach) threaded a ball ahead for the speedy Alexander, who slotted in her second of the night and PRCC's seventh.
Pensacola State capitalized on its lone chance in the 71st minute, ending the clean sheet and making it 7-1.
The Wildcats answered back quickly. After the keeper stopped an Alexander shot, the rebound fell to Gale, who reacted first and smashed home her first collegiate goal to close out the scoring at 8-1.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to action August 29 for a 7 p.m. showdown against East Central. The contest will serve as PRCC's home opener.
CASHLESS BOX OFFICE
To help improve traffic flow and fan experience, PRCC athletics box offices are cashless. Only credit and debit cards will be accepted. Fans are encouraged to beat the lines by purchasing tickets in advance at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets, or download the HomeTown Ticketing app to purchase and store tickets on a mobile device.
TICKETS
Tickets for the 2025 Pearl River soccer season are available now at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. Advance-purchase tickets are $8, while gameday tickets are $10. Season passes are on sale now for $63 plus fees.
HOW TO WATCH
The Wildcats will once again livestream all home games for free at PRCCMedia.com. Fans with Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app store.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
