Heading into Saturday’s Gulf South District Championship game, the No. 10 Pearl River men’s soccer team knew it needed to make a statement against No. 7 Jones College if it wanted to prolong its postseason stay. 

Mission accomplished.

Playing in its fifth consecutive final and a year removed from capturing the crown, the Wildcats turned in a dominant second half to defeat No. 1 seed Jones College on its home turf, 3-1. The victory secured back-to-back Gulf South District Championships and a bid to the NJCAA Soccer Championships for the third time in four years. It was also Pearl River’s eighth Region Championship overall.

“Excuses are lies, and I say that to the boys all the time,” head coach Drew Gallant said. “If a few things had gone differently for us in the first half, it could’ve been a different game. We made no excuses. We drove through it. Instead of losing our heads, we battled through it tonight. That’s the difference. That’s why we’re having such a good run at Pearl River. We don’t make excuses. Tonight was just a special night.”

It was a different feel for Pearl River in the match, having advanced to the Gulf South District Championship game with a 6-5 penalty kicks victory over No. 6 Gulf Coast Thursday night.

“I’d rather win them the way we did tonight, but I’ll take any win we can get,” Gallant said. “Especially playing in this league with its high-level teams. We just beat back-to-back top-10 teams. Not many teams in the country have to battle like this.”

The Wildcats will now wait to find out their seeding for the Nov. 17-23 DII Men’s Soccer Championship hosted in Huntsville, Ala. PRCC will find out its first opponent Tuesday at 2 p.m. via the NJCAA Network.

GETTING IT DONE
Although four goals were scored in the match, it wasn’t until the second half that the first one found the back of the net.

Pearl River broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute, doing its damage on a set piece. The Wildcats earned a free kick in a dangerous area, and Sebastian Kristensen (Randers, Denmark) was sent over to take it. Although the freshman scored two free kicks against the Bobcats earlier in the season, he opted to loft this one into the box. Defensive midfielder Mark Peaden III (Ocean Springs) had moved forward and into the box. The sophomore saw the ball sailing his way, darted between a pair of Bobcat defenders and headed the ball into the left side of the goal to put the Wildcats on top, 1-0.

It was Tiago Honorio Jr. (São Paulo, Brazil) who made the lead a bit more comfortable in the 78th minute. A ball was sent ahead for the record-breaking striker. He dribbled into the left side of the box and faked a shot that sent an over-aggressive Bobcat defender sliding past him. Honorio Jr. cut back to his right and smashed the ball into the back of the net for his 29th goal of the year, tying the NJCAA lead.

With the Bobcats on the ropes, Pearl River extended its lead to three goals just two minutes later. Another free kick was sent flying into the box, and Honorio Jr. headed it off the top of the crossbar. The ball shot straight back into the air, and PRCC’s hero from Thursday night, Patton Francis (Poplarville), was there to head the ball into the net to make it a trio of Wildcat goals, 3-0. 

Goalkeeper Cameron Kent (Brandon) was clutch repeatedly for Pearl River throughout the match, keeping the Bobcats off the scoresheet until nearly the end. JC picked up one goal in the final five minutes of the match, but the damage had already been done as the Wildcats secured back-to-back Gulf South District Championships with a 3-1 victory.