ST. LOUIS, Mo. — In a battle of ranked opponents, the No. 15 Pearl River women's soccer team staged a thrilling comeback Friday night at the Midwest/South JUCO Showcase, rallying from a 3-0 deficit to defeat No. 17 Northeast 4-3.

"Northeast came out with high energy and we made some defensive errors we normally don't make," head coach Henrik Madsen said. "You can't do that against good teams, and Northeast is one of those. The girls corrected it, dug in, and responded really well to win the game."

The Blackhawks (1-4) stunned Pearl River (3-0) early, capitalizing on miscues to build a 3-0 lead inside the opening 15 minutes. The Wildcats clawed one back before halftime as Holly Jones (Liverpool, England) buried a chance in the box to spark momentum.

Adjustments after the break swung the game. Emily Reinike (Pass Christian; Our Lady Academy) struck first, winning a tackle and lofting a shot over the goalkeeper to make it 3-2. Minutes later, Jones leveled the score at 3-3, slotting home a pass from Callie Jones (Laurel; West Jones) for her second goal of the night.

The winner came in the 84th minute. Off a corner from Alesha Gale (Rotherham, England), Reinike rose above the defense and headed home the decisive goal, completing the comeback.

Pearl River then saw out the final minutes to secure the dramatic victory.

NEXT UP
The Wildcats face St. Louis on Sunday at 11 a.m.

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