SUMMIT, Miss. — The Championship standard at Pearl River has never slipped, but one goal has lingered unfinished for the No. 8 Wildcats the last few years. On Tuesday, the Wildcats finally checked that box again, clinching a share of the MACCC title for the first time since 2017.
After taking down Southwest 6-1 on the road, Pearl River ends the regular season tied atop the MACCC standings and Co-Champions with Jones College. The championship marks the seventh in program history.
"It's really special — it's amazing," head coach Drew Gallant said. "It's a long, hard season and we had to battle through it. We needed all of our players throughout the season, and it's just a great feeling to win another MACCC Championship."
Despite the title, tiebreaker rules give PRCC the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Gulf South District Tournament. The Wildcats will host Copiah-Lincoln on Friday at 6 p.m. in the Quarterfinal round as they begin their pursuit of a third consecutive Gulf South District crown.
"It's a new season now," Gallant said. "We have to take things one match at a time like always. We hope to continue on the success we've had, but we know it's going to be a battle every single time we step on the field — no matter who we play."
Pearl River (11-4-1 overall; 9-1-1 MACCC) wasted little time setting the tone against Southwest (6-9-1; 3-7-1). In the 10th minute, Tycho van Haaren (Doetinchem, Netherlands) broke free down the left side and crossed a ball into the middle for Viktor Hammer (Fredensborg, Denmark) to tap home for a 1-0 lead.
Just five minutes later, Emil Corfitzen (Copenhagen, Denmark) delivered a moment of brilliance, weaving through four defenders before firing a low strike into the right corner to double the lead.
In the 18th minute, van Haaren turned goal-scorer. Arthur Thygesen (Aarhus, Denmark) chipped a pass forward, and van Haaren sent a looping first-touch shot over the keeper and under the crossbar to make it 3-0.
Corfitzen secured his brace in the 28th minute, finishing off another Thygesen assist to push PRCC ahead 4-0. Southwest spoiled the shutout in the 36th, but it was the Bears' final tally of the night.
Camden Hayes (Ocean Springs) extended the lead in the 62nd minute, unleashing a 28-yard strike that bounced once before skipping past the keeper, 5-1. Hammer capped the scoring in the 87th minute, slotting home a pass from Drew Rumery (Ocean Springs) to seal the 6-1 victory.
TICKETS
Tickets for PRCC's Gulf South District Quarterfinal against Copiah-Lincoln will be on sale soon at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets.
TUNE IN
The Wildcats livestream all home matches 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.
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