FULTON, Miss. — The No. 8 Pearl River men's soccer team dug itself into an early hole Tuesday afternoon at Itawamba and couldn't climb out, falling 4-3 in a hard-fought match against the Indians.

Pearl River (9-4-1 overall; 7-1-1 MACCC) fell behind early as Itawamba (10-2-3; 6-0-3) struck just four minutes into the contest. Nineteen minutes later, the Indians doubled their lead to make it 2-0.

In the 37th minute, PRCC pulled one back through a sharp connection between Tycho van Haaren (Doetinchem, Netherlands) and Emil Corfitzen (Copenhagen, Denmark). Van Haaren drove down the right side and whipped a cross to Corfitzen, who popped the ball into the air and smashed a volley between two defenders into the left side of the net to cut the deficit to 2-1.

ICC added a third goal in the 43rd minute and another in the 71st to take firm control at 4-1. The Wildcats mounted a late rally, beginning in the 81st minute when Landon VanCourt (Long Beach) scored his first goal of the 2025 campaign to make it 4-2.

Just a minute later, PRCC struck again — this time with van Haaren finding the back of the net off an assist from Oren Doxey (Gulfport; St. Stanislaus) to make it 4-3.

The Wildcats pressed hard for an equalizer in the final eight minutes but couldn't convert, ultimately falling 4-3 in a spirited effort.

NEXT UP
Pearl River returns home Friday to host Meridian at 7 p.m.