3 Lady Bulldogs picked for All-Star Game

PERKINSTON – Three Mississippi Gulf Coast players will be competing in the MACJC Women's All-Star Soccer Game this year.

Kristin Hicks, Moriah Minnis and Abigail Smith will be playing in the showcase, giving coaches at four-year schools an opportunity to see them against the league's best players. The game will be played at Holmes' Ridgeland Campus at noon on Nov. 14. The game is sponsored by Mississippi Sports Medicine and JUCO Weekly.

The Lady Bulldogs barely missed the state playoffs after a 7-9-1 season that saw vast improvement start to finish. The team went 3-1-1 in their second half of the South Division schedule, ending 5-6-1 in a tie with Meridian for third.

Hicks earned NJCAA Goalkeeper of the Week honors in the next-to-last week of the season when she backstopped a 1-0 upset of No. 18 Jones County, stopping 39 of 40 shots on goal in two games.

"Kristin is going to be one of the better goalkeepers in that game," Gulf Coast interim head coach Jackie Rhodes said. "She stepped up in the second half of the season and she deserves to be on that team. She's really going to shine up there."

Minnis led Gulf Coast with seven goals. The forward from Perkinston, who also added an assist, was one of the Lady Bulldogs' most consistent players.

"She provided a lot of offensive threat for us," Rhodes said. "She scored goals. She was one of our go-to players up top. We always looked to get her the ball."

Smith had three goals and an assist. The Gautier product helped control midfield for the Lady Bulldogs.

"She is a physical player, and she's so passionate," Rhodes said. "She's a player you have to have on the field. She brought stability in the middle of the field for us."

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