Lady Bulldogs close out regular season in style

Mississippi Gulf Coast wrapped up its regular season in style Tuesday, winning at Meridian 4-0 to finish the regular season on a three-game win streak.

Erin Longsden scored twice and the Lady Bulldogs posted their third straight shutout. They have outscored their opponents 18-0 over that stretch.

"We played well. We had some chances in the first half but just made some bad choices," Gulf Coast coach Jackie Rhodes said. "We came in the second half and put four in the back of the net. It was good to see."

Gulf Coast improved to 10-3-1 overall. The Lady Bulldogs' 8-2 record in the MACJC South earned them the No. 2 seed in the division.

They'll entertain Itawamba in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. The teams met early in the season, tying 2-2 on Aug. 26 in Perkinston. The winner of the second meeting will advance to the MACJC championship, which will also be played at the new MGCCC Soccer Complex on Oct. 29-30.

Casey LaFontaine (5-5, Fr., Pass Christian/Pass Christian) scored seven minutes into the second half Tuesday. Longsden (5-5, Fr., Droylsden Academy/Manchester, England) added her first four minutes later.

Shannon Swilley (5-4, Fr., Pass Christian/Pass Christian) made it 3-0 in the 64^th minute before Longsden closed out the scoring in the 79^th.

Kassady Walters (5-9, So., Harrison Central/Saucier) posted her ninth shutout of the season.

"It gives us some confidence going forward to Tuesday's playoff game," Rhodes said. "We possessed the ball well and we were good offensively and defensively."

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCAthletics on Twitter and BulldogLIVE on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.