A flurry of second-half goals helped the No. 8 Pearl River men's soccer team power past Meridian on Friday night, 6-1, securing its 10th win of the season and keeping pace atop the MACCC standings.
"There's been a pattern lately with teams making big saves and blocking everything as soon as we hit it," head coach Drew Gallant said. "We were finally able to convert on some set pieces and pick up some important goals. It was a good result for us tonight."
The Wildcats (10-4-1 overall; 8-1-1 MACCC) didn't need long to get on the board, striking just 13 minutes into the match against Meridian (6-7-4; 2-6-2) courtesy of hometown product Patton Francis (Poplarville). Usually stationed in the back line, Francis found himself inside the box for a corner kick. Pearl River played it short to Oren Doxey (Gulfport; St. Stanislaus), whose shot was deflected before falling to Francis' feet. The defender turned and slotted it into the left side of the net for a 1-0 lead.
As if one defensive scorer wasn't enough, Jonathan Workman (Biloxi) added his first career goal in the 26th minute, pouncing on a loose ball and firing a shot that deflected past the keeper to double the lead, 2-0.
Meridian pulled one back early in the second half, scoring in the 55th minute to make it 2-1, but Pearl River quickly regained control.
In the 70th, Arthur Thygesen (Aarhus, Denmark) threaded a perfect pass from beyond midfield to Emil Corfitzen (Copenhagen, Denmark), who buried his 15th goal of the season to restore the two-goal cushion.
The Wildcats didn't slow down. Tycho van Haaren (Doetinchem, Netherlands) made it 4-1 in the 84th minute, finishing off a rebound from Viktor Hammer (Fredensborg, Denmark). Three minutes later, Drew Rumery (Ocean Springs) cleaned up a misplayed shot by the Meridian goalkeeper to push it to 5-1.
Corfitzen capped the night with a penalty conversion in the 89th minute — his second goal of the match — to seal the 6-1 win.
UP NEXT
Pearl River wraps up the regular season Tuesday, traveling to Southwest for a 7 p.m. match. It will be livestreamed at Go.SMCCBears.TV.
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