Bulldogs tie archrivals in Poplarville

Mississippi Gulf Coast fought archrival Pearl River through two overtimes Monday afternoon and into the evening in women's soccer action, and in the end, it was dead even.

The Bulldogs and Wildcats left the field tied 2-2 and still tied at 3-1-1 in the MACCC South.

"I think it's fair to say it was a gritty performance from both teams," Gulf Coast coach Jackie Rhodes said. "I think we kind of found out who we were a little bit today. We went 110 minutes, and I really wish we would have won. But at the end of the day, it still puts us where we want to be."

Gulf Coast is 4-3-1 overall heading into Thursday's game at Meridian. The women will kick off at 7 p.m.

Leah Bennett (Fr., Cape Town South Africa/Mondeor) put the Bulldogs up in the 37th minute. Her long free kick eluded the PRCC keeper for the only score of the first half.

The Wildcats tied it up five minutes into the second half, but Hannah Salter (Fr., Olive Branch/Lewisburg) released Alyssa Palisi (Fr., Diamondhead/Hancock) with a great pass in the 57th minute. Palisi scored her ninth goal of the season to make it 2-1.

Pearl River, though, scored on a long shot that bounced in off the crossbar with 23:30 left in regulation.

Neither team was able to break the tie in the time remaining, which included two 10-minute overtime periods.

"I think the entire team, as a whole, I could not have asked for a harder-working 110 minutes," said Rhodes.

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