POPLARVILLE, Miss. — You can expect a battle when Gulf Coast and Pearl River match up in any sport. That's just what fans saw Friday evening as the No. 8 Pearl River women's soccer team gutted out a physical 1-0 victory over its archrival. 

"That was a good physical soccer game. Gulf Coast came in off a bunch of wins and should be ranked. They were giving it everything they had," head coach Henrik Madsen said. "I thought my girls battled hard and played hard. They gave us as much as they got. It's always great to start off conference play with a win like this."

The 1-0 win marked Pearl River's fifth clean sheet of the 2023 season and extended its unbeaten streak against the Bulldogs to five matches.

"I think I'd rate our backline among the best in the state," Madsen said. "We have four really, really good players back there in Maddie (Cuevas), Amélie (Wittenkamp), Mackenzie (Winters) and Anna Grace (Deakle). Their skill sets match each other. They work very cohesively.  

GAME RECAP
Just 11 minutes into the game, Alli Shemper (Ocean Springs) gave Pearl River (5-1 overall; 1-0 MACCC) the lead. The Wildcats earned a corner kick opportunity, and on the serve into the box, Shemper found the ball with her knee and got it to go past the Gulf Coast (4-2; 0-1) keeper.

"We worked on corners yesterday," Madsen said. "We positioned them in there, so it was nice to see good delivery in, and Shemper's knee was magic."

In the 31st minute, Emily Taylor (Laurel; Homeschool) gave the Wildcats a chance to build on their advantage. The pacey winger pushed the ball up the right side of the pitch before crossing the ball into the box. The ball was centered perfectly but was just a bit high of the PRCC header attempt. On the bounce, it hit the hand of another PRCC attacker for a hand ball foul.

Mackenzie Winters (Ocean Springs) gave Pearl River some more life in the 58th minute. The centerback pushed all the way up the field and plucked the ball away in Gulf Coast territory. She quickly slotted a pass to the middle of the pitch for Chloe Ezell (Ocean Springs), but her shot was saved by the Bulldog keeper. 

The stellar defensive play continued for Pearl River in the 70th minute as Amélie Wittenkamp stole the ball from the Bulldogs in their own box. Unfortunately for Pearl River, she was unable to find the next pass. 

Pearl River's final shot attempt came in the 86th minute as Fredderikke Nielsen (Spentrup, Denmark; Randers Statsskole) was fed a pass with her back turned. Upon receiving it, she quickly spun and fired toward the goal, but a stellar save by the goalkeeper kept it from hitting the back of the net.

NEXT UP
The Wildcats travel to Scooba on Tuesday to take on the newly revived East Mississippi soccer program. The match will get underway at 5 p.m. and will be livestreamed at EMCCLive.com.