Gulf Coast grabs convincing 1st MACCC win of season

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast women's soccer coach Ryan Joiner told his club they needed to withstand an early second-half storm after they took a lead late in the first. The Bulldogs did that and more.

They responded to a tying goal early in the second half in the best way possible, pushing three past Meridian to win 4-1 at Bary Thrash Field.

"The girls kept responding," he said. "We asked them to come tonight and have a little freedom. I think they expressed themselves. Our movement was really good. I'm excited about their performance and for our next game."

It gave Gulf Coast their first MACCC win of the season. The Bulldogs are 5-2-1 overall and 1-1-1 in the conference. Meridian is now 5-4, 0-3, having lost twice to MGCCC this season.

Mariana Gonzalez (So., Cartago, Costa Rica/Colegio Calasanz) scored 16 seconds before halftime. She collected a cross from Isabella Reynolds (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) and put it in the side netting.

Meridian equalized seven minutes after the break, and the Bulldogs got a couple of breaks to go back on top. Morgan Pickering (So., Wiggins/Stone) hit a shot from the top corner of the area that hit a defender's head and looped over the keeper. Her fourth goal of the game came in the 63^rd minute.

Four minutes later, the Bulldogs hit a free kick into the box that a Meridian defender put into her net. Isabella Reynolds (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) got her first goal of the season 12 minutes before the final whistle. She poked in a carom off a free kick.

Gulf Coast has now scored 17 goals in eight games, one more than the 2022 team managed in 14.

The Bulldogs concentrated their defensive efforts on Lauren Smith, who has 11 goals. She managed an assist but was frustrated with one or two Bulldogs hounding her all 90 minutes.

"I think she's one of the best, if not the best, players in our league," Joiner said. "We game-planned and said if she beats us tonight, that's on us. We left the game in our defenders' hands, and they did a really good number. Credit to her, she just kept grinding for her. She kept fighting."

The players earned a weekend break with a 1-0-1 week, but they'll face a rugged test Tuesday. At the end of a long road trip to Senatobia will be No. 3 Northwest Mississippi. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. 

"Three points (tonight) no matter who it's against is hard in this league," Joiner said. "We've got four points, but we've got to keep moving. We've got a tough game against Northwest which poses a whole different set of challenges."

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