ELLISVILLE – No. 7 Pearl River scored once in the first half and twice in the second to hand the fourth-ranked Bobcats their first shutout loss of the season, 3-0, Tuesday evening at the Bobcat Soccer Complex.
Jones (9-3-1, 5-3 MACCC) has now dropped three of its last four matches after opening the season unbeaten through its first nine contests and reaching No. 1 in the NJCAA poll.
After allowing just three goals through their first nine matches, the Bobcats have surrendered 10 over their last four, including five in a loss to Holmes and two against Gulf Coast.
Pearl River (11-1, 8-0 MACCC) remained unbeaten in conference play behind goals from Julie Svensson-Olesen, Lola Smith and Alesha Gale.
The Wildcats struck first in the 20th minute when Svensson-Olesen finished a feed from Gale at the 19:31 mark to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage.
Jones managed four first-half shots, putting three on goal, but couldn't get anything past Pearl River goalkeeper Josey Davis.
The Wildcats doubled their lead less than five minutes into the second half when Smith scored an unassisted goal at 49:31.
Jones continued searching for an answer offensively, but Pearl River's defense limited the Bobcats to just three shots over the final 45 minutes.
Gale put the match away in the 83rd minute, scoring off an assist from Julia Hoffman at 82:21 to account for the final margin.
Davis stopped all five Jones shots on goal to preserve the shutout for Pearl River.
The Bobcats will look to get back on track Tuesday, Oct. 20, when they travel to Meridian for a 5 p.m. conference matchup. Jones closes the regular season with home matches against Itawamba on Oct. 23 and a road trip to Hinds on Oct. 27.
