HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — The No. 13 Pearl River men's soccer team has proven to like early-season challenges. The Wildcats took to the field for a second day in a row on Saturday and came up just short in a 3-2 loss to National Park.

"They were extremely organized, just like I thought they'd be," head coach Drew Gallant said. "They defended really well and caught us on some counterattacks. We didn't handle our counter-pressing situations very well. They were able to drive and create chances.

"At halftime, we focused on trying to take those chances away from them. In the second half, we played very well. We were all over them in the second half. We just couldn't produce."

Gallant talked about the value that an early season experience like this weekend can be moving forward.

"We were looking for this kind of early season game. We really wanted a game to see how hard we could fight on a second day," Gallant said. "This is back-to-back years that we've done this to try and mentally prepare us for bigger games down the road. It helps us get the feel of having to think more when we're tired and heavy. That's why we try to play the best team second."

GAME RECAP
The first 20 minutes of the contest were back-and-forth between the Nighthawks (1-0 overall) and Wildcats (1-1). It wasn't until the 25th minute that a was scored as NPC used a header on a cross to move ahead. 

One minute later, National Park was awarded a free kick just outside of the box and smashed it into the right side of the net to double the advantage, 2-0.

The Nighthawks made it 3-0 three minutes into the second half of play, dribbling past the Wildcat backline before sending a shot across goal and into the left side of the net.

Pearl River made a few adjustments and started to live on the Nighthawk side of the pitch over the final portion of the game. Jason Irais (D'Iberville) gave the Wildcats their first goal in the 55th minute when his free kick outside of the box went to the right of the diving NPC keeper.

The 87th minute saw Christopher Dommer (Copenhagen, Denmark; Øregård Gymnasium) get involved again. Newcomer Kristoff Graham (Clarendon, Jamaica.; Clarendon College) dribbled down the right side of the pitch before passing off to Dommer in the middle of the field. On his first touch, Dommer bent a shot into the left side of the net to cut the deficit to 3-2. 

The Wildcats had a few more chances over the game's final stretch but couldn't convert, falling in the contest.

UP NEXT
Pearl River hits the road on Tuesday for a 3:30 p.m. exhibition match against Mississippi College.