No. 6 MGCCC faces No. 12 PRCC in semis

PERKINSTON — No. 6 Mississippi Gulf Coast and No. 12 Pearl River have fought some pitched battles on soccer fields across the state the last couple of years, and there figures to be another epic meeting Saturday.

The teams play the first semifinal in the 2021 MACCC/NJCAA Region 23 Tournament on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.

"Last year, Pearl River had a great year and beat us twice and we caught them in the semis," Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. "We're having a really good year and have beaten them twice, so we're trying not to repeat the mistakes of the past. We're aware, but I think our guys are focused."

Hinds and Jones will play in the following semifinal, with the championship set to be decided at 3 p.m. Sunday. The winner clinches a spot in the NJCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship in Wichita, Kansas, next month.

The Bulldogs avenged a pair of losses last year with a 1-0 victory in Raymond. Gulf Coast (11-2) won 2-0 at Poplarville and 2-1 at Perk this year, which puts the shoes squarely on the other feet.

"In the first game, they dominated after we scored early and we won," Handy said. "I thought we had the better of the game in the second one after they scored early. We want to come out aggressive and try to score and make them chase the game. I think an early mistake could be the end of it. We'll play safe in the back and aggressive up top."

It's not really possible to look past Saturday's game, but there's the rugged schedule to be considered. The Bulldogs, who earned the right to host with a 2-1 win last week over Pearl River than clinched the MACCC South title, tried to maximize recovery time when they set up the schedule. 

"If you have to play back-to-back, there's no better place to do it than home," Handy said. "We get to sleep in our own beds, we don't have to be on a bus, we have our own training room to work on injuries if they come up. In the end, you really can't ask for a better situation." 

MACCC/Region 23 Tournament

Perkinston

Saturday, May 22

Men's Semifinal: S1 Gulf Coast vs. S3 Pearl River, 11 a.m.

Men's Semifinal: N1 Hinds vs. S2 Jones, 1:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 23

Men's Championship Game, 3 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.