RAYMOND, Miss. — The No. 8 Pearl River men's soccer team showed plenty of fight Thursday night, clawing back from an early deficit against No. 12 Hinds, but the Wildcats couldn't complete the comeback, falling 3-2 to the Eagles.
"They're (Hinds) very good on counters and set pieces, and we didn't clear our lines like we're supposed to. They caught us on it," head coach Drew Gallant said. "That's what happens with good teams. When you don't do the small things defensively, they're going to capitalize.
"We created chances going forward and had some opportunities. We're just not scoring like we should be."
Pearl River (2-3 overall) fell behind almost immediately as Hinds (5-0) opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Fourteen minutes later, the Wildcats struck back to level things. Emil Corfitzen (Copenhagen, Denmark) was fouled inside the box, earning PRCC a penalty. Viktor Hammer (Fredensborg, Denmark) stepped up to the spot and calmly tucked his shot into the left side of the net, making it 1-1.
The momentum didn't last long, however, as Hinds capitalized on two more opportunities in the final 21 minutes of the first half. The Eagles' clinical finishing sent them into the break with a 3-1 advantage over the Wildcats.
The second half proved to be a grind for PRCC as the Wildcats tried to break down Hinds' organized defense. Despite pressing forward, clear chances were difficult to come by. It wasn't until the 87th minute that Pearl River gave itself late hope. Hammer stepped up for his second penalty of the night, but this time his attempt was saved. Crashing in on the rebound, Tycho van Haaren (Doetinchem, Netherlands) pounced and slotted the ball inside the right post to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Pearl River pushed numbers forward in the final minutes, but Hinds managed to fend off every last attack, holding on for the narrow victory.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to action Tuesday, traveling to Decatur to take on East Central. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The game match will be livestreamed at ECCCLive.com.
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