No. 17 MGCCC qualifies for postseason with win at Jones

No. 17 Mississippi Gulf Coast clinched a playoff spot Friday, finishing a season sweep of Jones County with a 4-2 win in Ellisville. Four different Bulldogs scored.

"I was really happy with the effort and the way the guys played," Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. "They played with maturity and high IQ. I was super impressed."

The Bulldogs are three games up in the MACJC South Division with three games to play. They extended their win streak to 10 games and are 11-1 overall, 7-0 in the division.

A win Tuesday against 1-11 Copiah-Lincoln would clinch the South title and earn Gulf Coast the right to host the state tournament.

The Bulldogs got the win with Jordan Hall (5-9, 163, Fr., Royton and Crompton/Manchester, England) being held scoreless. He was leading the country in goals coming into the match.

"To win without Jordan scoring is something we might have to do in the future," said Handy.

Caleb Counselman (5-10, 160, Fr., Pass Christian/Pass Christian) got his sixth goal of the season in the fifth minute, but Jones's Joseph Todd tied it up 17 minute later.

Tylor Davis (6-0, 164, Fr., West Harrison/Gulfport) put the Bulldogs back in front in the 35^th minute with his fourth goal.

Jones tied it up in the first minute of the second half on Todd's second goal, but Aarin Johnson (6-2, 290, Fr., The Cottesloe School/London) had a 55^th minute goal, his third, and James Beattie (5-7, 155, So., Williamwood/Glasgow, Scotland) scored an insurance goal, his seventh, in the 82^nd minute.

"I thought we could have been better defensively, but as far as possessing the ball and our attack, I thought it was probably the best I've seen us play," Handy said. "The rotation got a little narrow in the second half, but the guys were playing so well. I was really impressed with how they played."

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