MERIDIAN, Miss. — The No. 13 Pearl River women's soccer got back on track Friday evening as the Wildcats exploded for three goals in the second half to defeat host Meridian 4-1. 

"I felt like we were braver in the second half in front of the net," head coach Henrik Madsen said. "We were a little reluctant to take the hits in the first half, so we talked about that at halftime, and I thought we played really well in the second half."

MATCH RECAP
It felt as if the ball barely left the Meridian (7-7 overall; 2-6 MACCC) side of the pitch throughout most of the first half as Pearl River (9-4; 5-3) constantly pressured the Eagles. The Wildcats picked up their first real chance just eight minutes into the evening after being awarded a corner kick. Rather than play the ball into the box, PRCC opted to send it to Maddie Cuevas (Kiln; Hancock). The sophomore booted a ball into the box where Ann Maris Ragan (Flowood; Hartfield Academy) was standing. Ragan got a head on the ball but couldn't direct it as it went wide of the net. 

Two minutes later, Pearl River had the ball inside the box of the Eagles, but there were no obvious passing lanes. The Wildcats sent a pass back outside to Chloe Ezell (Ocean Springs), who unleashed a laser toward the goal that sailed just to the right and out of play. 

Ragan had another header opportunity in the 17th minute and put it right on goal this time, but Meridian's goalkeeper quickly scooped it up for the save, ending the threat. 

Pearl River finally struck in the 29th minute, courtesy of Jessica Lawrence (Ocean Springs). Lawrence was fed a pass at the top right of the box. The freshman turned, found an inch of space and fired an incredible shot across goal and out of the reach of the diving MCC goalkeeper to put the Wildcats on top, 1-0. 

PRCC continued to dominate possession throughout the half, but the Eagles executed a counterattack perfectly to even things up in the 43rd minute of the match, 1-1. 

When the second half began, Pearl River wasted no time taking the lead back. The Wildcats earned a corner kick, and Marieke Faber (Bristsum, Netherlands; Leeuwarder Lyceum) trotted over to take it. The freshman sent a ball into the box for fellow international Amélie Wittenkamp (Oelstykke, Denmark; Egedal Gymnasium), who knocked it into the back of the net in the 52nd minute, 2-1.

Ragan doubled Pearl River's advantage in the 58th minute. The forward made a great run, and Ezell delivered a perfectly timed through ball to the sprinting Ragan, who smashed it home, 3-1.

Pearl River added one final goal on the evening as Ally Stiglets (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) fired a cross into the box that Camryn Aldous (Petal) jumped up and headed into the back of the net to increase the lead to 4-1 in the 87th minute.

UP NEXT
Pearl River returns to the PRCC Soccer Complex on Tuesday as East Central comes to town. The match will get underway at 5 p.m.

TUNE IN
All Pearl River soccer games 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.

CASHLESS BOX OFFICE
To help improve traffic flow and fan experience, PRCC athletics box offices will be cashless in 2023-24. Only credit and debit cards will be accepted at the box office. Fans are encouraged to beat the lines and purchase their tickets in advance at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets.

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