RAYMOND, Miss. — The No. 7 Pearl River men's soccer team found itself a goal down twice but kept fighting to earn a tough 2-2 draw on the road against No. 16 Hinds Tuesday night.

"It's a tough place to play, and they're a really defensive team," head coach Drew Gallant said. "We made some halftime changes that really helped us create a lot of chances in the second half. We were better at the back in the second half, too.

"I'm pleased with the second-half performance and with us fighting back, but I hate that we didn't put away any more of our chances."

With the result, PRCC is now tied atop the MACCC standings with rival Jones College, setting up what could be a conference-clinching match Friday at the PRCC Soccer Complex.

"We're scoring the most goals, and they're the team that doesn't concede goals. It's going to be a matter of which team breaks first," Gallant said. "It's a massive match that I hope everyone comes out for. The winner could be the champion."

Pearl River (11-2-3 overall; 7-0-2 MACCC) found itself behind 14 minutes into the night against Hinds (10-2-3; 4-2-3) as the Eagles converted a scramble in front of the goal, 1-0.

The Wildcats found their equalizer four minutes later. Pearl River sent Tycho van Haaren (Doetinchem, Netherlands) to take a corner kick, and the winger delivered a beautiful lofted kick to the far post. Tiago Honorio Jr. (São Paulo, Brazil) backed down his defender and headed the ball into the back of the net for his MACCC-leading 25th goal of the year. With the score, Honorio inched a little closer to the single-season Pearl River record of 27 goals held by head coach Drew Gallant.

The Eagles earned another goal before the break, going up 2-1 in the 28th minute. PRCC had a few opportunities but eventually trailed after 45 minutes. 

Seven minutes into the second half, Pearl River scored the equalizer. Honorio Jr. set up the goal, dropping inside and slipping a pass to Emil Corfitzen (Copenhagen, Denmark). Corfitzen had one of the nicest finishes of the year, chipping the HCC goalkeeper and placing the ball into the top corner of the net, 2-2. 

The Wildcats created plenty of chances throughout the rest of the second half. With 78 minutes left, van Haaren had his shot saved, and the ball rebounded out to Honorio Jr. The striker fired another shot, and the Hinds goalkeeper saved it again. On the ensuing corner kick, Pearl River had a pair of its shots blocked and another one saved.

In the 85th minute, Sebastian Kristensen (Randers, Denmark) fired a shot from long range off the crossbar, and PRCC went on to draw with the Eagles 2-2. 

TICKETING
Tickets are on sale now at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. Tickets purchased in advance are $8. Tickets purchased on gameday are $10.

TUNE IN
All Pearl River home soccer matches 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.

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