The only goal of Saturday’s game between Vicksburg and Pearl wasn’t clean, but it was a goal nonetheless. And now, Vicksburg’s record has been dirtied up a bit.

Pearl’s Jonathan Jones scored with just over a minute left in the first half, on a shot that VHS keeper Bowen Woodson stopped but couldn’t handle, and the Pirates held off a strong flourish by the Gators at the end to escape with a 1-0 victory.

The loss was Vicksburg’s first in seven games this season. Pearl improved to 5-0-1.

&#8220It’s not a clean goal. It’s not something you want to lose 1-0 off of,” Vicksburg coach Jason Bennett said.

The way the Gators played the rest of the game gave Bennett plenty of reason to be glum on a cold, overcast afternoon.

Vicksburg outshot Pearl 11-7, and 7-3 in the first half, but always seemed a split-second late on its scoring chances. The Gators controlled the action for most of the first 40 minutes, until Jones took a pass from Ben Walker at the top of the goal box and fired a shot toward Woodson.

Woodson stopped the low shot, but couldn’t control it. The keeper rolled over as he made the save, allowing the ball to go off his hands and into the net for a goal.

&#8220It went under his arm. It was a good shot, and I guess I just got lucky,” Jones said.

Pearl took the momentum from the goal and seized control of the game for much of the second half. Vicksburg had few opportunities for the next 25 minutes, then had what seemed like a nonstop flow of them for the final 15.

The Gators had a half-dozen throw-ins deep in Pearl territory but couldn’t convert any of them. Jay Hall launched one header directly into the back of teammate Michael Cooper in front of the goal. Cooper pushed another shot wide on a breakaway with less than 90 seconds to play. And Pearl keeper Josh Beam was solid, with several key stops down the stretch to secure the win for his team.

&#8220We had chances. I think we just got frustrated with them not going in, and then had some frustrating moments at the end,” Bennett said. &#8220We just couldn’t get it in. Couldn’t finish. You have those days.”

(G) VHS 4, Pearl 2.

Vicksburg’s Diari Gilliam and Holly Head shared a birthday Saturday, as well as a big hand in getting the Missy Gators a victory.

Head scored a goal, and Gilliam had a goal and an assist, to lead VHS (6-1-1) to a win over Pearl. Viktoria Case scored two goals for Vicksburg, and Daria Lawrence, Lucy Matthews and Crystal Davidson each had an assist.

The win was the 301st of Vicksburg coach Kevin Manton’s career. He earned No. 300 by guiding the Missy Gators past Madison-St. Joe 2-1 on Friday night. Matthews had one goal and Becky Wilson had a goal and an assist for Vicksburg in that game.

&#8220You don’t think about it when you start,” Manton, who has led Vicksburg to five state championships, said of reaching the milestone. &#8220I went years and years and never kept stats. We just played games and played games and won some.”

(G) St. Al 5, Greenville 0.

Hallie Hoxie and Haley Davis scored two goals apiece to lead the St. Aloysius Lady Flashes to a rout of Greenville-Weston.

Riley Griffith added another goal, while Davis, Marie Booth and Ansley Fulcher each had an assist for St. Al (3-4-1), which led 4-0 at halftime.

(B) St. Al 3, Greenville 2.

Steven Mazzanti scored two goals and Vincint Montalvano added one as the Flashes defeated Greenville.

Richard Cowart had two assists in the victory.

(B) WC 2, Brandon 2.

WC 3, Petal 0.

Warren Central had a good day in Rankin County Saturday. The Vikings got a goal from Heath Carroll and Eric Richards to tie Brandon. Richards assisted Carrol’s goal. Goalie Jacob Fischenich made seven saves.

In the second game against Petal, Richards scored two goals and had an assist and Buddy Cook added a third goal in the Vikings’ victory. Ben Watson had an assist and Jared Thames led a spirited defensive effort.

(G) WC 2, Petal 0.

Brandon 2, WC 0.

Mary Clare Scurria scored two goals to lift Warren Central to a 2-0 win over Petal at Brandon High on Saturday afternoon. Both goals were unassisted.

In the first game, an early morning affair, Brandon scored two second-half goals to shut out the Lady Vikes (6-2).

Warren Central is scheduled to play at Greenville on Tuesday in the Delta.