No. 12 MGCCC posts road win

No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast went on the road Tuesday and got a hard-fought 1-0 non-conference men's soccer win over East Central in Decatur.

"We were OK most of the game," Bulldogs coach Chris Handy said. "We didn't execute in the final third, which kept the game pretty tight. Overall, it's another shutout, which is going to be important for us and our overall success. It wasn't fantastic, but it also wasn't bad."

The Bulldogs are now 2-0. A late-game position adjustment wound up paying big dividends.

Vincenzo Jeanfreau (So., Saucier/Pass Christian) won a second ball and got it to Pedro Harb (Fr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/CEJA Copacabana). Harb played Alexander Mink (So., Long Beach/Long Beach) through, and he broke the tie in the 81^st minute.

"At the time, Mink had been playing striker for about 15 seconds," Handy said. "It was a change we'd just made. He played striker for grand total of about 45 seconds, scored a goal and went back to holding mid."

The Bulldogs posted another shutout. Xavier Ezell (So., Starkville/Starkville) got the call at keeper, and Dorian Robinson (So., Biloxi/Biloxi) shone in a new role.

"He stepped up at center back," Handy said. "He was probably as important as anyone tonight. His 1v1 defending was the difference."

Gulf Coast is back in action Friday when archrival No. 8 Pearl River visits for a non-conference matchup. Kickoff at Bary Thrash Field is set for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.