POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The No. 10 Pearl River men's soccer team wanted a District Championship feel Sunday afternoon and got just that. With one day of rest since defeating Meridian, the Wildcats took on another tough opponent as the National Park Nighthawks came to town. After 90 minutes of hard-fought soccer, the Wildcats prevailed with a 1-0 victory.

"That's a really talented team. I've said it before, but I think that's a team that could make it to the National Tournament," head coach Drew Gallant said. "I would've liked to have seen us score a few more goals today with the opportunities that we had, but I am happy with the result."

Despite putting nine shots on goal in the match, Pearl River (8-2-1 overall) didn't get on the scoresheet against National Park (2-5) until the second half of the match. In the 47th minute, Tiago Honorio Jr. (São Paulo, Brazil) was carrying the ball up the pitch before losing position. The forward could have given up on the play but kept pushing up the field and took it right back from a Nighthawk centerback. He moved into the box, held up play and sent a shot by the diving NPC goalkeeper, 1-0.

PRCC nearly struck again on a set piece in the 83rd minute. Tycho van Haaren (Doetinchem, Netherlands) played a ball short around the wall to Emil Corfitzen (Copenhagen, Denmark). Rather than cross the ball, Corfitzen fired a shot that struck the bottom half of the crossbar and ricocheted back out.

The Nighthawks fired a few shots on goal throughout the second half, but Cameron Kent (Brandon) was up to the task each time. With his six-save effort, Pearl River picked up a 1-0 victory and its third consecutive clean sheet.

Pearl River named Mark Peaden III (Ocean Springs) its Man of the Match following the victory.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats are off Tuesday before returning to action Friday to take on Holmes at 7 p.m. The game will be PRCC's annual Cayce Seal game, honoring the life and legacy of the former Wildcat captain. All proceeds from the game will be donated to the Cayce Seal Scholarship Foundation.

TICKETING
Tickets are on sale now at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. Tickets purchased in advance are $8. Tickets purchased on gameday are $10. Season passes can be purchased for $56.

TUNE IN
All Pearl River home soccer games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app stores.

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