MRA was able to limit PCS’ star goal-scorer, Jillian Rhian, in the first half of Tuesday’s match, but the second was a whole different story. After a scoreless first, the Ole Miss commit scored twice in the second, leading the Lady Bobcats to a 2-0 win and their first over MRA in nearly two years.
“It was an absolutely massive win,” said PCS coach Gemma Lynch. “We’re coming off a lot of injuries, so our numbers are very low. So to come on top against MRA, a team from Jackson, is an an absolutely fantastic win.
“In the first half, we had a lot of possession and a lot of chances. We just didn’t put the ball in the back of the net. Their keep was fantastic playing so high off the line. I just told the girls in the second half, ‘Don’t let them get a chance and make sure you put your chances away, and it will be our game’.”
Seven minutes into the second half, Rhian scored her first goal of the game, and she added number two about 10 minutes later.
“Anyone who’s committed to Ole Miss is a pretty big deal,” said Lynch. “She [Rhian] stepped up big for us, and the girls that were feeding the ball to her were absolutely fantastic. Jillian herself would say this is a whole team effort.
“There’s a lot of teams that will put one or two girls on her. So I told the other girls, ‘You gotta step up big and help her out’. I think we did that tonight.”
PCS improved to 3-5 on the year with the win, and Lynch views it as a big confidence-booster moving forward especially with the adversity they’ve dealt with to this point.
“Coming off the amount of injuries we’ve had to key players like seniors, these girls have rallied, and we’ve been so close in a lot of games. Tonight is just the icing on the cake.”
The Lady Bobcats will be back in action on Thursday at Parklane Academy.
