By Cody Thomason
The Vicksburg Post

Porter’s Chapel Academy had to battle Canton Academy and the elements on Thursday night, and ultimately came up just short in a muddy 2-1 loss. Rain started pouring down in the second half in what turned out to be a tight finish, with the Eagles nearly tying the game in the final minutes.

PCA had four shots on goal in the last five minutes, but most sailed just high or wide of the frame.

“Good play by the team, outshot Canton by a good bit, just couldn’t put it in the net,” PCA coach David Case said.

Canton got off to a hot start, with senior Matthew Dinkins scoring a goal within the first two minutes. The Panthers struck again with a goal by Peyton Penn in the 27th minute.

PCA was without its usual goalkeeper, and instead eighth-grader Zachary Moore manned the position for the Eagles. While he did allow the two first-half goals, Moore didn’t allow another for the rest of the game and notched five straight saves.

“The wet didn’t help us any, and our normal goalie wasn’t in the net, but that doesn’t matter,” Case said. “Zach Moore fielded the goal and he did a great job.”

The Eagles came out for the second half with a new energy, allowing fewer shots on goal and managing to get a number of solid looks on the offensive end.

“I just told them to keep doing what they know to do,” Case said. “Keep passing the ball, and just shut them down. Step hard to everybody, win the 50-50s, and try to put it in the net.”

PCA finished with 14 shots on goal, seven in each half.

“We’ve got to convert the shots on goal,” Case said. “I appreciate the shots that we had on goal, we had a lot, but we’ve got to be able to finish and close the game out. Unfortunately we didn’t get to do that tonight, but for this young team, they’re doing tremendous, they’re not quitting, they’re staying in the whole time, and that means a lot to me. It shows that they want this team to work.”