POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The No. 7 Pearl River men's soccer team suffered its first conference loss of the season Friday night at the hands of rival No. 10 Jones College as the Bobcats walked away with a 3-1 victory.
Jones College (10-2-2 overall; 8-0-2 MACCC) scored the night's opening goal two minutes into the match, taking advantage of a Pearl River (11-3-3; 7-1-2) mistake to send a shot into the back of the net, 1-0.
The 27th minute saw a near Pearl River goal. Emil Corfitzen (Copenhagen, Denmark) did the work to push the ball up the pitch before dishing it off to Tycho van Haaren (Doetinchem, Netherlands). The winger found some space and attempted to fire off a shot, but the Bobcats jumped in front to block it.
Six minutes later, Noah Fazal (Vaerloese, Denmark) crashed into the box to get a head on a Zach Howard (Ocean Springs) perfectly placed cross, but Jones College's keeper reacted quickly to snatch the ball out of the air.
Pearl River had another near miss just before the halftime buzzer sounded. Corfitzen grabbed control of the ball with 10 seconds and dashed down the field before sending a shot buzzing along the ground for the left side of the net. The ball just missed the far post and went out of play, allowing the Bobcats to take a 1-0 lead into the break.
Julio Martinez (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) was the next Wildcat with a narrow miss. In the 60th minute, the sophomore headed a great pass from Corfitzen just over the crossbar. Unfortunately, the Bobcats struck immediately after, going right down the field and putting a second goal into the back of the net, 2-0.
The 73rd minute saw PRCC get one back as Tiago Honorio Jr. (São Paulo, Brazil) was fouled in the box on a tough challenge by the Bobcats. The 6-foot-4 forward made it count, placing it into the back of the net for his 25th goal of the season, 2-1.
Pearl River kept pushing for an equalizer, but Jones College grabbed a third goal to secure a 3-1 victory in the match.
NEXT UP
Pearl River remains at the PRCC Soccer Complex on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. match against Itawamba.
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.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
