MERIDIAN, Miss. — The Pearl River men's soccer team continued its great run of form Friday evening as the Wildcats went on the road and blasted Meridian 5-1.

"I thought we had a good overall performance. We created a lot of chances and are finally scoring goals," head coach Drew Gallant said. "We spent so much time on the ball in the first half that it eventually took a toll on them. We had several goal scorers and got everyone minutes tonight."

MATCH RECAP
Pearl River (5-4-3 overall; 4-1-3 MACCC) was the first to score on the evening as Jason Irias (D'Iberville) struck in the 22nd minute. Christopher Dommer (Copenhagen, Denmark; Øregård Gymnasium) sent a great through ball forward for Irias. The sophomore grabbed control of the ball and fired a shot into the bottom left side of the net, 1-0.

Four minutes later, PRCC extended its lead to 2-0. The Wildcats were awarded a free kick just outside the box and opted to have defender Mikkel Fredsgaard (Allerød, Denmark; Lyngby Handelsgymnasium) take the set piece. The freshman stepped forward and sent a rocket toward the goal that hit off a defender and went into the back of the net, 2-0.

In the 36th minute, Meridian (3-9-1; 2-5-1) was taken down inside the box to earn a penalty kick and promptly stepped up and placed it into the back of the net to slice into the PRCC lead, 2-1.

Kristoff Graham (Clarendon, Jamaica; Clarendon College) looked to have extended the lead in the 43rd minute, breaking through and sending a shot into the back of the net, but the offsides flag was raised, and the goal was disallowed. Thankfully for the Wildcats, they had another opportunity moments later, and Kristoff Graham made it count this time. Aden Smith (Biloxi) played a ball forward from the back of the formation that was headed down by a Meridian centerback and landed at the feet of Graham. The Jamaican dashed forward to find some space. He fired off a shot from just outside the 18-yard box that banged off the top corner and into the back of the net, 3-1. 

Ian Graham (Meridian; Biloxi) joined in on the scoring fun in the 60th minute when Jason Irias crossed a ball to him that he headed it into the back of the net, 4-1. 

Brennon Maulden (Wiggins; Stone) added Pearl River's final goal in the 84th minute. Tiago Honorio Jr. (São Paulo, Brazil; Zacarias Antônio da Silva) passed off to Noah Webb (Pearl), who quickly sent a pass to Maulden. The sophomore fired a shot toward goal that went through the goalkeeper's hands and into the back of the net, 5-1. It was Maulden's first goal as a Wildcat.

UP NEXT
Pearl River returns to action Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a home match against East Central. The night will serve as PRCC's annual Cayce Seal night. All proceeds from entry to the match will be donated to Cayce Seal Memorial Scholarship Fund. 

CASHLESS BOX OFFICE
To help improve traffic flow and fan experience, PRCC athletics box offices will be cashless in 2023-24. Only credit and debit cards will be accepted at the box office. Fans are encouraged to beat the lines and purchase their tickets in advance at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets.

For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).