POPLARVILLE — The Pearl River Community College Wildcats grabbed two goals in the first 14 minutes of their season opener Wednesday and cruised to a 4-0 victory over visiting Itawamba at the PRCC soccer complex.
The Wildcats' leading returning goal scorer Jevaun Ennis (Maypen, Jamaica) set the tone, scoring seven minutes in. He struck again seven minutes later, taking a pass from Daminik White(Kingston, Jamaica) and putting it past the ICC keeper.
Jonovan Cucurullo (Bay St. Louis) added to PRCC's lead in the 53rd minute, beating a sprawled Indians keeper on the right side. Bo Bowman (Bay St. Louis) finished the night's scoring in the 75th minute by going five-hole from point-blank range. The sophomore celebrated the goal with a backflip for good measure.
"Bo and Jonovan, it was nice to get them in on the scoring," PRCC coach Drew Gallant said. "Bo is always a threat but for Jono to come on just shows the depth that we actually have on the field. With as many subs as we are allowed to make in this league, you have got to have depth."
Sophomore keeper Kobe Lie (Hattiesburg; North Forrest) was sidelined for much of the preseason with an injury but he didn't show any rust Wednesday. The veteran made a couple huge saves, including one first-half stop from just a few feet out where he lunged to his left to deny the Indians a goal.
Lie finished the match with four saves.
"Everybody got to see how good Kobe is," Gallant said.
Cooper Grafe (Kiln; Hancock) added two assists, while White and Kealan Baggett (Ocean Springs) also chipped in assists for the Wildcats.
"I think the quick start all relates to Cooper Grafe, actually," Gallant said. "Cooper's vision was great all day."
PRCC will be back on the pitch Friday with a road trip to Holmes Community College. Kickoff is at 4 p.m.
Gordon scores in debut for PRCC women
Rena Gordon made an immediate impact in her Pearl River Community College debut Wednesday, scoring on a penalty kick in a 4-1 defeat to visiting Itawamba Community College.
The Clarendon, Jamaica native started at center forward and was all over the field for the Lady Wildcats. Sarah Havens actually drew the first half penalty kick after getting pulled down in the box about 37 minutes into the match.
ICC's keeper made a big save on Gordon to keep the visitors ahead 2-0 at that point, but Gordon made the most of her second opportunity with six minutes remaining in the match when she blasted her shot past an outstretched keeper.
ICC took a 2-0 advantage into halftime on goals from Halle Moore and Addison Meadows. Jada Ross added to ICC's lead about the 65th minute. Fran Galleguillos-Pollarolo capped the day's scoring in the final minute.
PRCC will be back on the pitch Friday with a road trip to Holmes Community College. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.
