No. 15 Bulldogs take next postseason step Saturday vs. ICC

PERKINSTON — No. 15 Mississippi Gulf Coast plays the MACCC/Region 23 men's soccer semifinals against with a healthy respect for Itawamba, which won the North Division.

The teams met once early in the season with the Bulldogs winning 5-1 to get their first victory.

"They're going to play well. We know that," Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. "We're not four goals better than them, by any stretch of the imagination, so we're going to get a true game. They're a respectable opponent."

The teams are playing the first semifinal at 4 p.m. The men's semifinals are being played at Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland. Holmes is hosting by virtue of winning its women winning the North, and both Sunday's finals will be played on the school's Ridgeland Campus. The game will be streamed at https://letsgoicctv.com/red/, although there are technology limitations at the site that may affect the quality and availability of the stream.

Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students. Children 6 and under are free.

Pearl River, which won the South Division, plays Hinds, the North runner-up, in the second semifinal. The final is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Itawamba is 11-4 and it split with Hinds, providing the only blemish in eight North games. Jose Villanueva leads the team with nine goals, and Billy Gipp has six assists. Corbin Martin is 7-4 with a 1.31 goals-against average.

Handy, in his 10^th season at Gulf Coast, has taken four teams to the championship game. The Bulldogs, however, haven't won a state championship. Interestingly, they've never technically lost the title game, having fallen all four times in penalty kicks. Those games count as ties, officially.

Handy and his staff want to utilize all the depth on their bench as best they can to make it all the way.

"We want to win both games," Handy said. "Pushing all your chips in on the first game can cost you the second. We'll push our chips in (Saturday) if we have to."

MACCC/NJCAA Region 23 Men's Soccer Tournament

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, Nov. 2

S2 Gulf Coast 4, N3 Northwest 0

N2 Hinds 1, S3 Jones (Hinds advances 4-3 on PKs)

Semifinals

Saturday, Nov. 6

Freedom Ridge Park, Ridgeland

4 p.m.: N1 Itawamba vs. S2 Gulf Coast

6:30 p.m.: S1 Pearl River vs. N2 Hinds

Championship

Sunday, Nov. 7

Holmes Ridgeland Campus

2:30 pm: Men's Championship

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