Gulf Coast earns home-field advantage for playoffs

PERKINSTON – No. 15 Mississippi Gulf Coast will be hosting the MACJC Soccer Championship on Oct. 29-30 thanks to clinching the South Division title.

Bulldogs coach Chris Handy said he hadn't run the numbers, but he thought his team had better results at home than on the road.

He was right. Gulf Coast has outscored the three teams it's met twice in the regular season 15-3 at home and 10-3 on the road.

"We've had a lot of home games here. We're very comfortable here," Handy said. "To be able to sleep in our own beds and go through our own routine, and have our locker room, there are a ton of advantages the other teams don't have."

The Bulldogs (12-1, 8-0 South) are riding an 11-game win streak headed into Saturday's game against Southwest (11-4, 4-4). Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., with alumni games starting at 12:30 followed by the women's game at 4.

It will be the first of two meetings against potential semifinal opponents in the last two regular-season games. Gulf Coast heads to Meridian on Tuesday, and those teams are battling for the final two playoff seeds in the South.

The Bulldogs will play one of the second- or third-seeds from the quarterfinal matchups, and they'll get to do so in familiar surroundings, which have helped breed success this season.

"We've earned it," Handy said. "It's not like it's been given to us. The guys have gone out and met every challenge. To have the opportunity to play in front of their family and their friends is a huge advantage."

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