POPLARVILLE, Miss. — On a rain-soaked pitch, the No. 11 Pearl River men’s soccer team earned a win over Copiah-Lincoln on Tuesday, 3-0. The Wildcats will take on Gulf Coast on Friday for a chance to host the MACCC playoffs.

It’s going to be a big game there,” said coach Drew Gallant. “Luckily, we got out of here with no injuries. We didn’t really have a deep roster for tonight, so I was really proud of the effort that everyone put in.”

Pearl River (10-2 overall; 7-2 MACCC South) pounced on Copiah-Lincoln (4-7-1; 2-7-1) early in the match, grabbing its first goal in the 3^rd minute. Diego Rangel (D’iberville) made a short pass to the near side of the goal and Mohamed Diallo (Gulfport) blasted the first touch past the CLCC goalkeeper to PRCC on top, 1-0.

The second Wildcat goal came in the 60^th minute. After a Samuel Lambert (Picayune; Pearl River Central) shot was saved, the ball bounced to the feet of Rangel who put it into the left side of the net to make the score 2-0.

“Another big game from Diego,” said Gallant. “I’m glad he could step up and save us here these last few games of the season.”

Andre Nicholson (Kingston, Jamaica; Clarendon College) added a third goal just six minutes later. A quick dribble into the box was followed up by a shot that slid along the ground past the keeper, extending the lead to 3-0.

UP NEXT

The Wildcats will be back in action on Friday as they go on the road to face archrival Gulf Coast at 7 p.m.