MACJC South, North leaders meet in Perkinston

PERKINSTON – There will be a clash of the leaders of the MACJC South and North divisions on Tuesday at the new MGCCC Soccer Complex.

Hinds (3-2-1, 3-0-1 North) visits Gulf Coast (6-1, 5-0 South) in a game scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

"They're first in the North, we're first in the South, so it could be a preview of the (state) final," Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. "There's a lot of attention being paid to this game by us."

The Bulldogs, who received votes in the NJCAA Division I poll released Monday, are riding a five-game win streak with three consecutive shutouts. They have scored 23 unanswered goals in the last three-plus games.

Jordan Hall (5-9, 163, Fr., Royton and Crompton/Manchester, England) has three consecutive hat tricks and is second in the country with 13 goals. James Beattie (5-7, 155, So., Williamwood/Glasgow, Scotland) has 11 assists, which is also second in the nation.

Gulf Coast won the early season matchup at Hinds last season, but fell 4-1 in the MACJC semifinals. That loss remains firmly lodged in the Bulldogs'' memory.

"I feel like they're going to have a very similar team to what they had last year," Handy said. "They'll be very direct, which makes them difficult to play against. After what they did to us last year in the playoffs, it's a game we really want."

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