ELLISVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River men's soccer team knows it has to throw records and previous results out the window when it faces off against rival Jones College because it will be a fight every time.
From start to finish, the Wildcats had to battle and gutted out an impressive 2-1 victory over the home-standing Bobcats to earn a fourth consecutive trip to the Gulf South District Final.
Pearl River will match up with rival Gulf Coast on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. for a berth in the NJCAA Tournament. The match will be livestreamed at JCBobcats.com/Watch.
"It was a battle. They're a very good team and are ranked seventh in the country for a reason," head coach Drew Gallant said. "This is a hard place to play, and they are a well-coached team. I'm glad we were able to knock them out of the tournament. This is a big win for us."
GAME RECAP
Jones College developed numerous chances in the first 10 minutes of the game, but Noah Nymark (Farsoe, Denmark; Handelsgymnasiet Turogade) kept up his great form by saving all of the chances that he faced.
Christoper Dommer (Copenhagen, Denmark; Øregård Gymnasium) developed PRCC's first chance, firing a shot from five yards out of the box that sailed just a bit too high and out of play.
Pearl River was awarded a penalty kick in the 28th minute, and Tiago Honorio Jr. (São Paulo, Brazil) was the one to step up to the spot. The freshman has been automatic on penalties this season, and Friday night was no different as he placed it past the dive of the Jones College keeper, 1-0.
The Wildcats added a much-needed insurance goal in the 42nd minute. A good through ball from the midfield set up a Dommer shot attempt. The Bobcat goalkeeper was positioned well and made the stop, but the ball bounced out to the left, and Kristoff Graham (Clarendon, Jamaica; Clarendon College) crashed in to knock the ball into the back of the net, 2-0.
Honorio Jr. nearly struck on a goal of a lifetime in the dying seconds of the first half, bicycle-kicking a ball that was in the box. The shot sailed to the right, however, and went out of play to send PRCC into the break with the lead.
Jones College made changes in the second half and started to put pressure on the Wildcats. The Bobcats eventually got on the board by sending a ball into the net during a scramble in front of goal, 2-1.
PRCC almost got the goal back in the 78th minute as Graham dribbled his way into the right side of the box and fired a shot that smacked off the far post and was fallen on by the goalkeeper.
JC peppered Pearl River with shots in the final five minutes of the night, but Nymark was still firing on all cylinders, saving a header and another shot attempt to help Pearl River walk away with the 2-1 victory.
"Nymark promised me a shutout today, but he lied," Gallant jokingly said about his nearby goalkeeper. "He played really well. It was another big performance out of him. He's really switched things on in the second half of the season."
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