PERKINSTON, Miss. — It was going to take a total team effort to get a result against archrival Gulf Coast on Tuesday evening, and the Pearl River women's soccer team was certainly up for that challenge. 

With limited depth and facing a 2-1 deficit, Pearl River turned in a herculean effort in the second half to take down the Bulldogs 3-2. The victory extends PRCC's unbeaten streak against MGCCC to four matches.

"It was an unbelievable effort from the 15 players that we had available. That's a sign of a good team," head coach Henrik Madsen said. "They dug in and played hard for each other. I thought we played really, really well. 

"At the half, we just told them to relax and move the ball around. We started to find some space down the sidelines. We started getting the ball out wide and became dangerous."

Frederikke Nielsen (Spentrup, Denmark; Randers Statsskole) was the hero in the game, bagging a pair of second-half goals to propel the Wildcats to victory.

"She's definitely been good, hasn't she," Madsen said. "She's tactically very good. She has good spatial awareness to get into the right spots. She doesn't necessarily have to touch the ball until it gets into the box. She's just an absolute clinical finisher."

HOW IT HAPPENED
It took only 10 minutes for Pearl River (3-0 overall) to capitalize on a Gulf Coast (0-1) miscue. The Bulldog right back passed off to the goalkeeper, but Marieke Faber (Britsum, Netherlands; Leeuwarder Lyceum) continued to press. Before the keeper could get the ball out of the back, Faber plucked it away and slid it into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.

In the 19th minute, MGCCC evened the score when the Bulldog forward broke through the PRCC defense for an easy goal. 

Faber nearly equalized the game in the 22nd minute as she smashed a shot from just outside the box toward the right side of the goal, but the Bulldog goalkeeper dove for the save.

Gulf Coast cashed in on a set-piece opportunity in the 32nd minute. Although Celine Grothe (Lübeck Germany; Carl-Jacob-Burkhard) saved the initial shot and the rebound, she could not get a hand on the third shot attempt as the Bulldogs moved ahead 2-1.

The Wildcats tied things up in the 65th minute on some incredible link-up play from Maddie Cuevas (Kiln; Hancock). The sophomore played a ball just out of the reach of a Bulldog centerback to the sprinting Nielsen. The freshman forward popped the ball a little into the air and then smashed the ball into the top right corner of the goal, 2-2.

"That goal started from Maddie driving the ball down the field past a couple of their players," Madsen said. "Freddie made a good run, and Maddie picked a really good pass to get it into her path. Freddie did exactly what she's supposed to be doing."

Nielsen continued her clutch performance in the 76th minute. On a corner kick, Chloe Ezell (Ocean Springs) sent a ball into the box. The ball ricocheted around before Nielsen got a solid touch on the ball and sent it into the left side of the net to move the Wildcats back in front, 3-2.

UP NEXT
Pearl River returns to the pitch on Friday for a 3 p.m. exhibition match at Mississippi College.

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