POPLARVILLE - There was no containing Pearl River's Tiago Honorio, Jr. on Tuesday evening, as the Wildcats' standout netted four goals in a 6-2 Northwest loss.
Matt Roth and
Miller Thorsen provided the two goals for the Rangers, but it wasn't enough to slow down the fast offensive attack from Pearl River, which improved to 8-4-3 overall and 7-1-3 in the MACCC.
Pearl River scored just three minutes into the match and again in the ninth minute, with both goals coming from Honorio, Jr. Later, the striker netted a hat trick with his goal in the 19th minute, burying the Rangers into a 3-0 hole.
Northwest did manage a goal in the 39th minute, trimming the halftime deficit to 3-1. However, Pearl River picked up where it left off in the second half, scoring in the 59th minute and again in the 63rd minute, effectively putting the match away.
Pearl River managed one more goal in the 87th minute, before the Rangers capped off the night with one final score of their own in the 89th minute.
With the loss, Northwest ends the 2023 campaign at 4-11 overall and 4-7 in the MACCC. Despite the loss, the Rangers doubled their win total from last season and were in play for the final postseason slot entering the match.
Freshman goalkeeper
Will Thompson ends the season in the program record books, as he logged 118 saves and finished at the top of the program's record books for most career saves. The Hernando native is tied for the most career saves with sophomore teammate
Connor Young, who logged 118 last season in the primary goalkeeper role, before switching to defender this season.
