DECATUR, Miss. — The No. 12 Pearl River women's soccer team got back on the winning side of things Tuesday evening at East Central, taking down the Warriors 4-1.

"It was nice to get back to winning and score some nice goals," head coach Henrik Madsen said. "I think the girls upped their energy in the second half. We talked about bringing more energy, pressing a little harder and moving the ball quicker at halftime. The girls did that, and we looked much better in the second half."

Pearl River (7-3-2 overall; 5-2-1 MACCC) picked up its first goal of the contest 22 minutes into the night. Holly Jones (Liverpool, England) sent a great pass inside the box, and Abby Badurak (Gulfport) reacted quickly to poke it past the East Central (0-8-2; 0-7-1) goalkeeper, 1-0. With the goal, Badurak has extended her scoring streak to five matches.

"Abby has been on a good streak of scoring lately and was able to keep that going today," Madsen said. "We've been excited to see her do that and hope she can keep it going."

Pearl River added a second goal in the 47th minute, with Jones creating again. This time, she fired a cross that the goalkeeper came out to try and catch, but it deflected off her. Luckily for the Wildcats, Haylie Alvarez (Gulfport; St. Patrick) was in the area to knock the ball into the back of the net, 2-0.

The Wildcat advantage grew to 3-0 in the 63rd minute, with Jones turning into the scorer this time. Chloe Ezell (Ocean Springs) saw a bit of space and sent a cross the length of the box to her international teammate. Jones took three quick dribbles and fired a shot into the back of the net at the near post, 3-0.

Jones made it a three-assist night in the 72nd minute, connecting with Badurak for the second time on the night. Yazmin Humphrey (Lucedale; George County) dished a pass off to Jones on the left side of the box. The freshman took her time to allow Badurak to get into position and fired a cross along the ground to the Southern Miss transfer for a tap-in goal.

"She's one of the leaders in the league in assists," Madsen said of Jones. "She just keeps adding to her total and has started to score some goals now. That's what we need her to do."

The Warriors got a goal back one minute later, but Pearl River held firm to earn a 4-1 victory.

NEXT UP
The Wildcats are off Friday night and will return to action Tuesday at Hinds. Kickoff against the Eagles is at 5 p.m. The match will be livestreamed at HindsCCSports.net.

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