Bulldogs blow past No. 11 PRCC

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast checked a lot of boxes Friday night in an important showdown against Pearl River.

The Bulldogs beat their archrival 3-1 to snap a five-game losing streak in the series. They moved into a third-place tie in the MACCC, and they beat a nationally-ranked program in the form of No. 11 PRCC.

"It's a step in the right direction," Gulf Coast coach Ryan Joiner said. "It's been a tough season, and this conference is unbelievably difficult. They're a good side. We just played really well. I'm excited for Gulf Coast, I'm excited for everybody who's part of this program, but we've got a lot of things to accomplish outside of one game."

Elissa Viquez (So., St. Rose La./Destrehan) scored the Bulldogs' first two goals to key the victory. Gulf Coast is now 7-2-1, 4-2-1. Pearl River falls to 6-3-2.

Laylah Johnson (Fr., Gulfport/Gulfport) carried the ball deep into PRCC box from midfield. On the other win, Viquez made her own lung-busting run to get in the right spot.

"I ran maybe a 50-yard sprint, half the field," she said. "I was there for that cross. If I wasn't, the game might have looked different. I'm glad I made that run."

She followed up that 22^nd-minute goal with another six minutes into the second half. Linda Mustered (Fr., Biloxi/St. Patrick) hurled a throw in deep into the box. After it bounced in the box, then off a Pearl River defender, Isabella Reynolds (So., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) nodded it further along and Viquez was again there at the 6-yard line.

"We knew coming into tonight she was going to be the first one off the bench for us," Joiner said. "She trained really well the last couple weeks and played really well against Meridian. She earned her time. I'm super proud of her and what she did for us tonight."

Jennifer Lopez (Fr., Gautier/Gautier) made it 3-0 seven minutes later after she earned a penalty kick and converted it.

Pearl River got a goal with 16 minutes left, but the Bulldogs closed things out for an important win. 

"It means everything," Viquez said. "In warmup, I was locked in. This is probably the most locked-in I've been. Getting minutes on the field, I knew I had to leave everything out there. I put my best in, and we came out with the W, which is what we needed."

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