ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The No. 10 Pearl River men's soccer team gave pushed defending National Champion and fifth-ranked Northeast to the brink Sunday morning at the Creve Couer Soccer Park, but ultimately fell short, 2-1.

"Not the result we wanted, but there's a reason they are the defending National Champion," head coach Drew Gallant said. "They scored an amazing goal early — probably the best we've seen all season. They have so much talent and are coached so well.

"At halftime, (assistant coach) Joe (Guinchard) saw a change we couid make tactically. We made a change in the formation and were all over them in the second half. We just couldn't find a second goal. Good teams like them can withstand the offensive pressure."

Northeast (5-1 overall) struck early against the Wildcats (2-2), taking the lead in the 15th minute and doubling its lead in the 31st to take a 2-0 advantage into halftime.

Pearl River was a different team after the break and finally broke through in the 53rd minute. Julian van Rijsdam (Badhoevedorp, Netherlands) slid a great pass to Emil Corfitzen (Copenhagen, DEnmark), whose shot was saved. Viktor Hammer (Fredensborg, Denmark) pounced on the loose ball and buried it to cut the lead to 2-1.

The Wildcats continued to generate chances down the stretch, but narrow misses and a solid Blackhawk defensive effort kept them from finding the equalizer.

NEXT UP
The Wildcats hit the road Wednesday to take on Hinds. The match will begin at 7 p.m. in Raymond. The match will be livestreamed at HindsCCSports.net.

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