WESSON, Miss. — No. 13 Pearl River women's soccer team kept its hosting chances alive for the upcoming Region 23 Tournament Quarterfinals Friday evening, winning a top-20 showdown against No. 17 Copiah Lincoln 2-0.

"It's always difficult to go on the road and come out with a win against a ranked opponent. It's also tough to play here, so I was really happy with our girls," head coach Henrik Madsen said. "Our playstyle was a bit unusual today because we had to go more direct than we normally do. I think we stuck to our game plan and what we had talked about. The girls worked hard for each other and stuck together."

MATCH RECAP
Chances were few and far between in the first half between Pearl River (11-4 overall; 7-3 MACCC) and Copiah-Lincoln (7-7-1; 4-5-1).

The Wildcats only rattled off a handful of chances before finally getting on the board, thanks to midfielder Chloe Ezell (Ocean Springs). The ball rolled back to the midfielder, and several Pearl River players pushed toward the goal. The freshman unleashed a booming kick that looked as if it was meant to be a cross, but it took a hard bounce and shot into the left side of the net for an incredible goal, 1-0.

Ezell nearly hit on another long-distance goal a few minutes later, placing it perfectly on frame from 20 yards out, but the goalkeeper saved it. 

Pearl River went into the break with a slim advantage, but Ann Maris Ragan (Flowood; Hartfield Academy) quickly doubled the advantage to begin the second half, scoring in the 47th minute. The striker pushed up the pitch and into the box before hammering a shot directly at Copiah-Lincoln's goalkeeper. The force from the shot caused the keeper to lose her footing and fall to the ground. The ball rebounded back to Ragan, who got her right foot on the ball and sent it into the right side of the net, 2-0.

The Wolves showed off their attacking prowess down the final stretch of the match, but PRCC goalkeeper Celine Grothe (Lübeck, Germany; Carl-Jacob-Burkhardt) was up for the challenge every time, turning away numerous shots to collect the clean sheet, 2-0.

UP NEXT
Pearl River returns home for the final time on Tuesday for a massive match against Northwest. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

"This is another year where we will get to finish off the season at home against one of the top teams in the country," Madsen said. "We're really looking forward to the match and giving it a go."

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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