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Southwest Mississippi Community College

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Bears soccer in first-ever MACJC title game after OT win over Pearl River

By: Michael D. Gunnell, Southwest Sports Information
Bears win

Men's Soccer | 10/20/2018 6:47:00 PM

Marcus Connolly scored from inside the six with 0:00.8 on the clock in overtime Saturday afternoon to give the Bears a hard-fought 2-1 win over the defending state champion Pearl River Wildcats in the semi-finals of the MACJC state tournament in Ellisville. They will try to win their first-ever state title Sunday night against Saturday night's Itawamba-Jones College winner.
 
With the win, their third over Pearl River this season, the Bears tied a team record with their 13th win (against 2 losses and a tie) while Pearl River ended the year at 11-4.
 
At 75:01 of the game, PJ Irwin threw the ball in to Felipe Madero who then dropped it to the ground, turned and fired it past the Pearl River keeper at point-blank range to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
 
The lead held up for the Bears until the 86:14 mark when Pearl River scored on a header off a free kick to knot the game at 1-1. Neither team was able to punch one in during the remaining time, forcing the extra play.
 
With time running down, and a second overtime seeming inevitable, Madero crossed the ball into Patrick Larsen. Larsen then crossed it back in to Connolly who headed it in for the game winner.
 
"I don't know what to say," commented Bears head coach Alex Brown. "I'm so proud of my guys. We fought so hard to get that 1-0 lead and then we took a punch with their late equalizer. But, we kept battling literally to the last second."
 
Speaking of Larsen's game-winning assist to Connolly, Brown said "Big-time players made big-time plays in big-time games. That's all that needs to be said. (It was an) incredible finish; what a way to win the game."
 
Taking a look ahead to Sunday night's title game, Brown said, "Of course, we are going to enjoy the victory, but the moment we get back to Summit we have to get ready for the final. I don't want to spoil the celebration and the moment for the boys, but we have to turn our focus and attention to tomorrow night. We're not finished yet."
 
The championship game is scheduled for a 7:30 start Sunday night and will again be live-streamed at www.southwestbearathletics.com.
 
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Players Mentioned

PJ Irwin

#3 PJ Irwin

MF
6' 3"
Sophomore
Patrick Larsen

#17 Patrick Larsen

MF
6' 1"
Sophomore
Marcus Connolly

#7 Marcus Connolly

MF
5' 9"
Freshman
Felipe Madero

#22 Felipe Madero

MF/F
6' 0"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

PJ Irwin

#3 PJ Irwin

6' 3"
Sophomore
MF
Patrick Larsen

#17 Patrick Larsen

6' 1"
Sophomore
MF
Marcus Connolly

#7 Marcus Connolly

5' 9"
Freshman
MF
Felipe Madero

#22 Felipe Madero

6' 0"
Freshman
MF/F