POPLARVILLE, Miss. — All season long, Pearl River women's soccer head coach Henrik Madsen has praised the talent of his freshman class. Tuesday night, that group showed exactly why.
Every goal in the No. 14 Wildcats' 6-2 victory over Hinds came from a newcomer.
"We're an extremely freshman-heavy team this year, and we've had a really great season to this point," Madsen said. "They're super athletic and great soccer players. It's been fun to watch their growth."
Hinds (7-5-2 overall; 2-5-1 MACCC) struck first, catching Pearl River (9-3; 5-3) off guard with an early long-range shot that found the back of the net to make it 1-0.
The Wildcats equalized in the 25th minute through a slick connection between Alesha Gale (Rotherham, England) and Shayla Nguyen (Long Beach). Gale beat a defender to the end line and whipped a cross into the box, where Nguyen settled the ball and rifled a shot off the bottom of the crossbar and in, tying things at 1-1.
PRCC took the lead in the 33rd minute thanks to Ida Lillebæk (Vejle, Denmark). Callie Jones (Laurel; West Jones) forced a save with a powerful effort, and Lillebæk pounced on the rebound to tap it home for a 2-1 advantage.
Hometown standout Addy Grace Alexander (Poplarville) made it 3-1 in the 41st minute with a dazzling solo run. She split two defenders down the middle of the pitch, then tucked a shot into the left side of the net.
"It's about reading your defense," Alexander said. "I read what they were doing and rushed past them to finish it off."
The reigning MACCC Player of the Week, Gale, got on the scoresheet in the 65th minute after Nguyen played a perfect through ball into the box. Gale's quick cut left the goalkeeper behind, and she calmly finished into an open net to make it 4-1.
Hinds pulled one back in the 77th minute to cut the deficit to 4-2, but the Wildcats weren't finished.
In the final moments, Alexander netted her second of the night before Julia Hoffman (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy) capped the scoring off a pass from Gale, sealing the 6-2 victory.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).