MGCCC drops narrow decision to GMC

PHOTO BY KHANH NGUYEN/MGCCC

WICHITA — Mississippi Gulf Coast has made a lot of hay off set pieces this season, but Monday one against the Bulldogs in their opening game of the NJCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship. 

Georgia Military converted off a corner in the 39^th minute and made it stand up for a 1-0 win.

"I'm disappointed in the result but not the effort," Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. "We got scored on by a set-piece, which is a big deal for us. We knew it would come down to that, but we hoped it would come our way."

The ninth-seeded Bulldogs have to win their second game to stay alive in the tournament. They face fifth-seed Parkland in a game scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Stryker Complex. The game will be streamed at https://www.njcaa.org/network.

If Gulf Coast (12-6-2) wins, it would have to get some help Wednesday when Parkland faces fourth-seeded GMC (13-2-1). Parkland (14-3-1) would have to win, which would set up a three-team tiebreaker scenario.

"We need a win to stay alive, and then we need some help," Handy said. "We'll show up and we'll play hard."

MGCCC was outshot 11-4 by Georgia Military, but both teams only managed one on goal. The teams were virtually dead even in all the other stats, as well.

GMC took a short corner and turned it into a shot from the top corner of the box. It rebounded off the near post to an unmarked teammate on the backdoor for the tap-in.

"In general, the boys played well," Handy said. "They played hard, and in the national tournament that's all you can ask for."

NJCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament

Wichita, Kansas

Stryker Complex

Pool D

Monday, Nov. 15

No. 4 Georgia Military 1, No. 9 Gulf Coast 0

Tuesday, Nov. 16

No. 5 Parkland vs. No. 9 Gulf Coast, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 17

No. 4 Georgia Military vs. No. 5 Parkland, 6:30 p.m.

Semifinals

Friday, Nov. 19

Semifinal 1, 4 p.m.

Semifinal 2, 6:30 p.m.

Championship

Saturday, Nov. 20

Final, 4 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.