Nationally-ranked Lady Wildcats secure MACJC State Soccer Tournament berth with 2-0 shutout over Lady Bobcats

ELLISVILLE The 15th-ranked Pearl River Lady Wildcat soccer squad secured a berth in the upcoming MACJC State Tournament with a 2-0 South Division shutout over host Jones County here Friday. The Wildcat team, on the other hand, battled the host Bobcats to a two-overtime 1-1 stalemate with both teams still in the mix for a post-season berth. PRCC women improved to 9-1 overall and 4-0 in division play, while its men are now 6-3-1 and 2-1-1. JCJC women dropped to 7-3 and 2-2, while its men are 4-3-2 and 2-1-1. The Lady Wildcats are ensured of at least the No. 2 South Division seed in the state tournament set for Oct. 22-23 (Saturday and Sunday), which will be played at the home field of the North Division men champion. At present, Itawamba men (in Fulton) are in first place in the North Division. The top two finishers from the North and South divisions earn berths in the state tournament. In Friday women game, the two teams battled to a scoreless deadlock at the intermission, but Ana Lee of Picayune Memorial High scored a goal off an assist from Emmaleigh Davis, a sophomore transfer from the University of Memphis who prepped at Resurrection High in Pascagoula, at the 25:05 mark of the second half. Jordan Organ of Forrest County AHS scored the final goal of the contest with 12:57 remaining off a free kick. In the men game, Dusty Pittman first-half goal gave the Bobcats a 1-0 edge at the break, but Antoine Armstrong of Pascagoula High tied it up in the second half off a corner kick. The top two finishers from the MACJC North and South divisions earn berths in the state tournament. Six playing dates remain for Pearl River, including South Division match ups with Copiah-Lincoln at Wesson (Oct. 5), Mississippi Gulf Coast at home (Oct. 8), Southwest Mississippi at Summit (Oct. 14), and a JCJC rematch at home (Oct. 19) to wrap the regular season. PRCC returns to action when MACJC non-division foe Holmes plays host Friday, Sept. 30, in Ridgeland (women 2 p.m., men 4 p.m.) before returning to South Division road play against Co-Lin Wednesday, Oct. 5 (women 5 p.m., men 7 p.m.).