SENATOBIA, Miss. — The No. 15 Pearl River women's soccer team struck first against reigning National Champion and top-ranked Northwest but couldn't hold the early momentum, falling 2-1 Friday night.

"It was an amazing performance by our girls," head coach Henrik Madsen said. "That's where we think we belong — with the top teams in the country. It was good to see them battle it out the way they did against a very good team.

"It was the first time they haven't scored four goals in a game all year. The back line was really good, Josie was excellent in goal, and everyone pitched in and battled hard."

Pearl River (6-3 overall; 2-3 MACCC) stunned the Rangers (10-0; 5-0) just six minutes into the contest. After earning a free kick, the Wildcats sent a ball perfectly into the box. Following a brief scramble, Alesha Gale (Rotherham, England) pounced and buried the opening goal, 1-0.

Northwest equalized in the 38th minute, rocketing home a free kick to make it 1-1. The Wildcats fended off relentless pressure the rest of the half to head into the break level.

In the 77th minute, Northwest capitalized on a rebound, as a header rattled off the post and fell to the feet of a Ranger who tapped it home for the 2-1 advantage. Pearl River pressed late for an equalizer but couldn't find the back of the net.

NEXT UP
The Wildcats return to action Tuesday for Sophomore Day against Copiah-Lincoln. The match will get started at 5 p.m.