POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River Wildcats tied a closely contested contest with arch-rival Gulf Coast Monday afternoon 2-2. 

“Definitely proud of the girls for how they fought,” head coach Henrik Madsen said. “I thought they battled hard. Games are always going to be like this against Gulf Coast.”

DOWN TO THE WIRE 

Gulf Coast (4-3-1 overall, 3-1-1 MACCC) struck first in the first half of to make it 1-0. 

The Wildcats (4-2-2, 3-1-1) only had a couple of opportunities to score in the first half.

At the 25 minute mark Sydney Sparato (Long Beach) took a lengthy shot from down the middle of the pitch but the Bulldog goalkeeper was able to secure the ball keep the score 1-0. 

The Wildcats finally broke through in the 50th minute when Aubrie Edwards (Biloxi) hit a corner kick to the Bulldog goal and Makenzie Ezell (Ocean Springs) headed the ball in to tie it up 1-1.  

“Makenzie gets out there and gets after it,” Madsen said

Gulf Coast immediately responded with a goal of their own to make it 2-1 Bulldogs. 

The Wildcats tied it up in the 68th minute when Katie Havard (Hurley; East Central) scored a fantastic goal from deep to make it 2-2. 

“As soon as Katie hit it I knew it was in,” Madsen said.

90 minutes was not enough to decide the winner as both teams played two overtime periods unable to break the tie. 

To the Wildcats credit, they played the role of “the” aggressor for a majority of the first overtime period but were unable to cash in and secure the win. 

UP NEXT 

The Wildcats return to action Thursday night when they travel to Ellisville to take on rival Jones College. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.