Gulf Coast heads to playoffs on win streak

Matt Ross scored in the 74^th minute and Mississippi Gulf Coast dodged a couple of near misses to edge Southwest 1-0 Tuesday at Summit.

The Bulldogs (13-4, 8-2 MACJC South) had already clinched the No. 2 seed in the division. They'll play East Central in Perkinston on Oct. 27 in the first round of the state playoffs. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.

"We didn't play particularly well," Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. "They're a hard team to play because they're athletic. We always play into their game a little bit, and I think it being their last game they were a little more up for it."

Gulf Coast will enter the playoffs on a four-game winning streak.

Juan Salazar picked up the assist on Ross' goal, which stood as the only goal after Southwest had a goal called back after a hand ball and had an apparent equalizer cancelled by the final buzzer sounding just before it went in.

"It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it," Handy said.