No. 20 MGCCC returns to division play

PERKINSTON — No. 20 Mississippi Gulf Coast blitzed through MACJC South competition in the first half of the division schedule. The Bulldogs outscored those four opponents 23-0.

They've got 2-1 during the midseason break, winning a pair of overtime games and losing 3-1 at home to Georgia Military on Sunday.

"We want to get back to playing well," Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. "Not to say we didn't play well during the break (in the division schedule), but we didn't get the same results we had been getting. We've been letting in some goals."

The Bulldogs (7-2, 4-0 South) play Jones County (4-5-1, 1-3) on Tuesday at the MGCCC Soccer Complex, with the game scheduled to start at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed at https://livestream.com/BulldogLIVE/events/7768429.

Gulf Coast won the first meeting 5-0 in Ellisville. This game starts a stretch of four of the last five regular-season games at home. The first four games are division games, and there's a simple goal in those.

"We want to wrap up the top seed as quickly as possible," Handy said. "That means winning these first two. If we do that, we should be assured the top seed."

The maximum goal difference for division standings purposes is three, so that sets the Bulldogs' target for them.

"We're back to 3-0 is a must, and we want to get sharp for playoffs," Handy said. "There's four weeks until the playoffs, so everything is with an eye toward those games."

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