No. 19 MGCCC top archrivals in Poplarville
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (4-1-0, 2-0-0) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|
Pearl River Community College (4-1-0, 1-1-0) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Anna Katherine Thriffiley (Fr., Biloxi/St. Patrick) scored twice to lift No. 19 Mississippi Gulf Coast past No. 14 Pearl River 3-2 on Friday. The Bulldogs erased an early deficit with three unanswered goals in Poplarville.
The Bulldogs handed archrival Bobcats their first loss of the season on their home field.
"AK putting in two goals, and the second off a set piece, was huge," Gulf Coast coach Ryan Joiner said. (Assistant coach) Jordan (Hall) predicted in the halftime talk we'd score off a set piece. It was what we worked on yesterday in practice."
After having lost five straight in the series in 2022-23, the Bulldogs (4-1, 2-0 MACCC) have won two of the last three. PRCC is now 5-1, 1-1.
Pearl River scored in the 22nd minute, but Nakiya Richardson (Fr., Gulfport/Biloxi) took a chance set up by Laylah Johnson (So., Gulfport/Gulfport) five minutes later to equalize. It was her first collegiate goal.
Thriffiley got her third goal of the season after a galivanting run. The 56th-minute goal gave the Bulldogs their first lead, and Thriffiley scored again five minutes later.
She got on the end of a long free kick from Millie Jebb-Geer (So., Dronfield, England/Dronfield Henry Fanshawe) and nodded it in.
"In the second half, after we made a tactical adjustment, it felt like we were on the front foot for a good bit of that," Joiner said. "When they got that second goal, we just had to defend for our lives. Everybody played very well for us, and we put in a big shift. I'm happy with the result on the road."
Pearl River scored in the 72nd minute, but the Bulldogs closed things out.
Gulf Coast will be back home Tuesday when East Central visits. Kickoff at Bary Thrash Field is set for 5 p.m. Tickets are available at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets, and 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.
