No. 8 Gulf Coast storms back to beat No. 10 Jones

PERKINSTON — Down by two goals at halftime, there wasn't any panic in No. 8 Mississippi Gulf Coast's locker room. The message was simple, and there weren't any adjustments made.

A six-minute offensive explosion turned the tables in the top-10 showdown, with the Bulldogs getting all their goals in a 3-2 win at Bary Thrash Field.

"That was fun," Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. "It's rare you can come back from two goals down. It's not an easy thing to do, but at halftime, we felt we were better than what we'd shown in the first half. We felt like we'd made some mistakes that cost us, but overall if we kept doing what we were doing, we would get something."

Fabien Barker (Fr., Madison/Madison Central) assisted on the first goal and scored the game-winner at 72:38. He was the only Gulf Coast player who appeared more than once on the scoring summary in a total team effort.

Handy and his staff told the team to just keeping playing like they had been. He wanted them to move the ball, be unselfish and look for 2v1's.

Gulf Coast dominated second-half play, outshooting Jones 19-8 after the break. But it took more than 21 minutes for the breakthrough.

Ashton Taylor (Fr., Olive Branch/Center Hill) won a Jones goal kick at midfield, and James Redmond (So., Bremen, Germany/Oberschule Roter Sand) stepped around a defender and slotted a lovely ball through to Barker racing down the left wing. His pass found Christian Inchima (So., Brampton Ontario/St. Edmond Campion) at the top of the 6-yard box, and he cut the deficit in half. 

Almost exactly three minutes later, Anderson Micolta (Fr., James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School/Toronto Ontario) found Abdul Omar (Fr., Madison/Germantown) at the top of the 18-yard box. He beat the keeper to tie the game.

Taylor looped in a cross from the right wing and found Barker waiting on the back post for game-winner with 17 minutes left.

"That's the first time maybe all season I felt like we were approaching our best," Handy said. "I'll take it."

The win broke a three-way tie for the top spot in the MACCC South. Gulf Coast (8-2, 5-2) has won six straight and is tied with Pearl River in first, a game ahead of Jones (6-3, 4-3).

The Bulldogs beat PRCC in their first meeting and hold the tiebreaker, but what does that mean? 

"Nothing," Handy said. "Because it's super tight. This year has been tighter than any year I can remember. Even as well as we're doing, we could finish third or out of the playoffs. The boys have been super focused since those two games we've dropped. They know for sure every single game they have to come back and play, or they'll be left behind." 

Gulf Coast plays Copiah-Lincoln on Friday in Perkinston. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

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