Gulf Coast women lose close opener

Mississippi Gulf Coast got its women's soccer season underway Tuesday on a soggy field at Pearl River, and only a late first-half goal spoiled their debut.

The Wildcats won 1-0 after a scramble following a corner in the final three minutes of the opening half. The Bulldogs poured on pressure late and had a pair of 1-on-1 chances and hit a crossbar off a corner kick.

"We had a few really good chances in the second half to tie it up, but we couldn't quite do it," Gulf Coast coach Aaron Avila said. "We created some really good chances, but we couldn't put it in the back of the net."

The Bulldogs were aggressive in the first half, but he said they defended too much in their own because they couldn't connect with key passes.

That changed in the second half, when the Bulldogs got more dangerous. The field dried some, which let passes carry longer. Especially late, they were able to play balls forward down the sideline and run onto them, which create those chances.

"We weren't able to play exactly how we wanted to play because of the field conditions," Avila said. "It had rained a lot and the field was holding water, which affects both teams. We had to adapt a little bit to that."

Pearl River is now 2-0.

Gulf Coast will play a pair of games this weekend in Georgia. The Bulldogs will play at Georgia Military on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m., with another game at Abraham Baldwin at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.