(Photo courtesy of Allan Ritter)

SUMMIT, Miss. — The No. 10 Pearl River women's soccer team walked out of Summit with a hard-fought victory over Southwest on Friday. The Wildcats, working with a limited roster, relied on Frederikke Nielsen's (Spentrup, Denmark; Randers Statsskole) goal with five seconds remaining in the first half and a stout defense for the win.

"We came out really well in the first half but struggled at the onset of the second half," Pearl River head coach Henrik Madsen said. "Southwest reorganized at the half, and we had a hard time figuring them out.

"We only had three subs, the girls had to gut it out, and Southwest ran numbers at us. They battled all the way to the end. A win is a win. We will take it."

HOW IT HAPPENED 

The Wildcats (4-0 overall) built momentum during the last third of the first half, applying pressure on the Southwest defense (1-2). 

At roughly the 27th-minute mark, Ann Maris Ragan (Flowood; Hartfield Academy) played the ball off the defender for a Pearl River corner kick. PRCC controlled the corner, and after a deft pass in the box, the Wildcats just missed a shot on goal.

In the 37th minute, Ally Stiglets (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) rocketed a shot over the goalpost after Southwest had an errant clear on a corner past the Southwest keeper.

With five seconds left in the first half, Nielsen received a perfect pass from Ragan, drove to the right side of the goal, and placed a perfect shot past the keeper to put the Wildcats on the board 1-0.

"The goalkeeper rolled it out, and the defender misplayed it," Madsen said. "Maris worked hard to win the ball and had a great pass to Freddie. It was great defensive work by Maris to create the goal and a great finish by the striker."

Southwest increased the pressure early in the second half, testing the Wildcats defense. Just minutes into the half, a Southwest corner brought goalkeeper Celine Grothe (Lübeck, Germany; Carl-Jacob-Burkhard Gymnasium) off her line for the save. Moments later, Grothe was tested again as she had to make a diving save on a long Southwest shot.

After weathering the storm, the Wildcats and front line were able to change the momentum and pressure the Bears' defense.

Ragan just missed on a header to the keeper off an Iben Madsen (Gulfport) corner kick. Ragan came up short again two minutes later. After receiving a pass from Amélie Wittenkamp (Oelstykke, Denmark; Egedal Gymnasium) at the edge of the penalty box, Ragan went one-on-one with the defender and fired a shot on goal.

Both teams struggled to find opportunities late in the second half, and the Wildcats walked away with a 1-0 win.

NEXT UP

The Wildcats travel to Tennessee to play Columbia State on Sept. 10 at 12 p.m.

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