No. 12 Bulldogs flip script on No. 5 Jones again

No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast turned the tables in the second half once again on No. 5 Jones on Wednesday, scoring all its goals after the break to win 3-1 in an important MACCC South showdown in Hattiesburg.

"We gave up the early goal because I didn't think we were ready for the intensity in the beginning," Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. "It affected our confidence, so at halftime the message was let's settle down and play. They came out and did that."

The Bulldogs (6-3, 4-1 MACCC South) took sole possession of second place in the division by winning for the fifth time in their last six games.

The Bobcats (7-2, 3-2) scored early, getting a goal from Yussef Hakmaoui in the ninth minute.

In May, the Bulldogs scored three goals in a six-minute blitz of the second half to beat Jones 3-2. This time, they got two in a 2:30 span to take the lead.

Michael Bell (Fr., Jackson/Murrah) scored the first from Seongbin Son (Fr., Seoul, South Korea/Guhyun), and Klaidas Pudlauskas (Fr., London, England/Gaynes School) got the second from Ivan Gonzalez (Fr., Olive Branch/Center Hill).

Witwise Akyeano (Fr., Milton Keynes, England/St. Paul's Catholic) added the insurance goal from a melee in front of the net in the 70^th minute.

"Overall, it's a huge win for us, particularly with a 3-1 score," Handy said. "They have to come over to our place and really do some damage to jump us. As long as we take care of busines with everything else, it's big."

Gulf Coast plays LSU Eunice in Perkinston on Friday. Kickoff is set for 6 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.