Gulf Coast wins scrimmage against Holmes
PERKINSTON – Mississippi Gulf Coast men's soccer coach Chris Handy had things to be happy about after Friday's 3-1 scrimmage win over Holmes.
But it wasn't a perfect performance, so they'll be lots to break down during film study in the following days.
"I thought we looked a bit raw, which we expected," he said. "There were some flashes of great things, but also flashes of some bad things. We've got things to iron out for next week."
The Bulldogs will open their regular season Aug. 22 when they play Lewis & Clark in Raymond.
Gulf Coast's James Beattie opened the scoring in the 35th minute by dragging a ball between three defenders in the penalty box and slotting in a goal inside the right post.
After Holmes equalized, Juan Salazar scored for Gulf Coast just before halftime. Gio Freitas broke up an attack near midfield, and Beattie, Salazar and Jordan Parron used four passes to slice through the middle of the Holmes defense.
"Those offensive flashes are things we like," Handy said. "The defensive end was most concerning, even though we let in only one goal. I'd like us to be cleaner and be a little bit tighter marking."
Parron picked up his second assist with pass to set up Lewis Tillman in the 81st minute for the final margin.
Gulf Coast will practice Saturday, then have an off day before attacking the film. There will be plenty of things to critique.
"We know what the end goal is, and that's to play for a championship," Handy said. "We've got to be better than we were today."