Women’s Soccer jumps 2 places

Mississippi Gulf Coast swamped East Central 5-0 Friday to jump two vital spots in the MACCC women's soccer standings.

It pushed the Bulldogs into sixth, with the top seven qualifying for the postseason.

"We think we've got a number we know it will take to get in, but we still have to play well and have some luck along the way as well," Gulf Coast coach Ryan Joiner said. "It's nice to move into that playoff spot and look like we can continue to grow from there."

Gulf Coast (6-3-1, 2-2-1) moved past East Central plus Itawamba, which lost 4-0 to Jones. East Central is 3-5-1, 2-3. The Bulldogs had beaten East Central 2-0 in non-conference play at Perk earlier this season.

Elissa Viquez (Fr., St. Rose, La./Destrehan) set up Kyla Smith (Fr., Hurley/East Central) for her seventh goal of the season to open things up. Isabella Reynolds (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) got her second off a free kick to put the Bulldogs up by two in the first 20 minutes.

"We started really fast tonight," Joiner said. "That's what we asked the girls to do, set the tone early after being on the bus for two-and-a-half hours. The girls were excellent, probably the best they've played all year."

Azlyn Dawson (Fr., Taylorsville/West Jones) picked up her first collegiate goal just before halftime for a three-goal bulge. Valentina Marin (So., Bogota, Colombia/Colegio Madre Matilde) picked up the assist.

Viquez got her second goal of the season, with Smith assisting. Kylie McNair (So., Sumrall/Sumrall) picked up her first career goal late in the contest, with Reynolds grabbing her seventh assist.

"When it comes from three set pieces and two really well-built goals, I don't think any of our goals were from their mistakes," Joiner said. "It was just really good soccer from us. To see girls outside just Morgan (Pickering) and Kyla, girls moving off the bench and scoring, that's positive for us going forward."

Gulf Coast returns home Tuesday to start a four-game homestand. No. 1 Holmes visits Bary Thrash Field, with the women playing second at 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs will play winless East Mississippi, No. 4 Jones and Itawamba in the final regular-season matches at Perk.

"We've just got to keep taking it one game at a time," Joiner said. "We know there will be some tough games coming up against really good teams we have to play. We know we have to get points when they're there."

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