No. 5 MGCCC takes tight loss to No. 3 NWCC

RIDGELAND — No. 5 Mississippi Gulf Coast will have to wait for Monday's announcement of the NJCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship field to see if it will be making a trip to Wichita.

The Bulldogs lost 2-1 on a late goal by No. 3 Northwest Mississippi in the Gulf South District Tournament semifinals Wednesday at Freedom Ridge Park.

"There were probably 60 of the 90 minutes we felt like we were very much in the game, but they put us under loads of pressure tonight," Gulf Coast coach Ryan Joiner said. "Overall, we competed in all 90 minutes. I'm very proud of our girls after tonight; we just got beat by a better team on the night."

Gulf Coast is now 12-3-1 on the season and will find out if they earn one of four at-large bids to the national tournament on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. The NJCAA will stream the announcements.

The Bulldogs got Wednesday's first goal after Linda Mustered (So., Biloxi/St. Patrick) was fouled in the penalty area in the 17^th minute. Laylah Johnson (So., Gulfport/Gulfport) calmly scored the spot kick.

Northwest (16-1-1) equalized four minutes later, and the teams stayed knotted at one until the 84th minute when the Rangers were able to get the game-winner.

"We told the girls at halftime to fight for everything and see what the result gives," Joiner said. "We had a chance right before that, but they score late. It's just part of a tough game when you play a top-five team in the country."

The Bulldogs will ride a sterling resume into the at-large selection process. They have a 1-0 win over No. 7 Jones, a 3-2 win at No. 14 Pearl River and a 2-2 tie at then-No. 1 Northwest. The only blemishes on their record will be one-goal losses to current No. 1 Johnson County, No. 2 Holmes and No. 3 Northwest.

"I think we'd be super unlucky not to get in," Joiner said. "We've the No. 5 team in the country. We have ranked wins against quality opponents. We have some tough, close one-goal losses to the top three teams in the country. I think we deserve to be in based on our body of work all season."

NJCAA Gulf South District Women's Soccer Tournament

Quarterfinals

October 31

Higher seed hosts

No. 2 Northwest Mississippi 3, No. 7 Itawamba 0

No. 3 Gulf Coast 2, No. 6 Meridian 1

No. 4 Jones 4, No. 5 Pearl River 1

Semifinals

November 5

Freedom Park, Ridgeland

Northwest Mississippi 2, Gulf Coast 1

Jones vs. No. 1 Holmes, 7 pm.

Championship

November 7

Freedom Park, Ridgeland

Northwest vs. Jones-Holmes winner, 7 p.m.

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