Pearl River used Tuesday night’s home soccer contest against Holmes to cleanse its palate from last week’s disappointment.
The Wildcats scored early and then piled on late in the 5-0 victory Tuesday.
“It was a good way to bounce back,” PRCC coach Drew Gallant said. “I thought our possessions were cleaner. They sat back on us like Southwest did but we looked much better against it.”
A week ago, Gallant was frustrated by what he thought were simple passes. Tuesday, the Wildcats deployed more purposeful passing, much to the delight of their coach.
“It was there,” he said. “It was more about getting forward and creating opportunities, not just passing it around the back. We definitely looked better tonight.”
Mike Jimenez (Ocean Springs) opened the night’s scoring in the 19thminute, burying a ball that rattled around in the Holmes box.
A minute into the second half Cooper Grafe (Kiln; Hancock) helped put the Wildcats (8-1) ahead 2-0 when his pass into the box from the end line was kicked into the net by a Bulldog defender.
Jevaun Ennis (Kingston, Jamaica) was busy all match for PRCC. He scored on beautiful free kicks in the 75thminute and again 13 minutes later.
The best goal of the match, however, may be Grafe’s. Three minutes after Ennis’ first goal the attacking midfielder blasted a shot that beat the Holmes keeper just inside the left post.
“Dom (White) made a good run to clear out the centerbacks, I walked right up to the 18 and just hit it,” Grafe said.
Kealan Baggett (Ocean Springs) led PRCC with two assists, while Andrew Elkins (Bay St. Louis; St. Stanislaus) added one of his own.
Kobe Lie (Hattiesburg; North Forrest) earned his eighth win of the season after turning away three shots from the Bulldogs (2-7).
The Wildcats have a busy week ahead, hosting Hinds at 7 p.m. Friday and then turning around to host archrival Gulf Coast next Tuesday.
“Hinds is always really good and plays really hard,” Gallant said. “We beat them in overtime (in last year’s playoffs), so we’re expecting a lot from them.”
Holmes 5, Lady Wildcats 1
Another division matchup is in the books for the Pearl River Lady Wildcat's but the result didn't go the Lady Wildcats' way as the home team fell to No. 12 Holmes 5-1.
While the contest started off evenly, the Lady Bulldogs established momentum with a goal in the 17th minute from breakout offensive weapon Zoe Ellis.
Only a minute later a costly mistake awarded the Lady Bulldogs with a penalty kick that Peyton Montgomery cashed in on.
The Lady Wildcats (4-5) rebounded and battled Holmes (10-0) well into the second half before giving up another costly penalty kick goal in the 54th minute, once again to Montgomery.
The Lady Bulldogs' Ja'Laycia Brown added to their lead in the 62nd and 79th.
PRCC broke the shutout late in the contest when reigning MACJC Player of the Week Rena Gordon (Clarendon, Jamaica) broke through.
Gordon had a busy night applying pressure throughout the match and consistently forced Holmes' back line to stay active. Freshman goalkeeper Candyce Martin (Gautier) recorded seven saves on the night.
"At the end of the day the team that punishes mistakes is going to be the team that is victorious and we are not doing that right now," PRCC coach Jack Byrd said. "I think the biggest takeaway from this game is that we have got a lot of heart on this team, we just need to get everyone on board."
Up next for the Lady Wildcats is a home contest against the Hinds Community College Lady Eagles at 5 p.m.
