Smith strikes twice to beat Pensacola State

Kyla Smith scored twice more for Mississippi Gulf Coast and the women's soccer team won its second straight on the road Tuesday. The Bulldogs beat Pensacola State 2-0.

Smith struck twice in a two-minute span late to make Gulf Coast 2-1 on the young season.

"She's done all the little things right," Gulf Coast coach Ryan Joiner said. "She shows up to training every day ready to play. (Assistant coach) Quintin (Walker) has worked with her a lot to get her ready. She's got an exciting two years ahead of her."

Joiner said his club came out a little sluggish, and the squad is learning how hard it is to win on the road. They made a halftime adjustment to the formation, which started paying dividends.

Gulf Coast missed a penalty in the 54^th minute and had to wait 24 more minutes before the freshman striker from Hurley got her first. She pounced on the rebound of her own shot off the post and made it 1-0.

The second didn't take long to happen. Kadie Craft (Fr., Picayune/Picayune) played a great through-ball to spring Smith, who didn't miss.

It was the second two-goal game of the season for Smith, who leads Gulf Coast in goals.

"I'm really happy to have a clean sheet tonight," Joiner said. "We didn't give up any goals after a couple games where we gave up six (total). That's a credit to the defenders and goalkeeper tonight keeping the ball out of the net."

The Bulldogs return home Sept. 5 to play Southwest Mississippi in a non-conference game. Kickoff for a doubleheader is set for 5 p.m. Tickets are on sale at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets, and the game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

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