UPDATED: No. 6 Bulldogs hit the road for Huntsville

UPDATE: This release has been updated with the result of the first game in Pool A.

PERKINSTON — No. 6 Mississippi Gulf Coast got on the bus Saturday morning to head for Huntsville, Ala. The Bulldogs attended the pre-tournament banquet that night for the NJCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship, which kicks off Sunday morning. 

After the niceties of the banquet, they watched the opening-day games as spectators. Top-seeded Pima needed a goal with 4 seconds left in regulation Sunday to force overtime before winning 3-2 in the second overtime period against 12^th-seeded Pellissippi State in the first game of the tournament.

Gulf Coast (12-2-5), which is the eighth seed, opens play Monday against Pellissippi State. It's the Bulldogs' second trip to the NJCAA tournament since 2021.

"The most important thing is to win Game 1," Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. "In order to have a chance to get through, we've got to do that. Our focus is on Pellissippi State, but we'll get a chance to watch them and Pima again. We'll have an idea of what we need to cover. For us, it's just to get through the first game and then to make the next game a fight."

The three Pool A games kick off at 10:15 a.m. Gulf Coast will play Pima on Tuesday.

The top team from each group advances to the semifinals, which will be played Thursday. The championship is Saturday. The tournament is being played at Joe Hunt Park in Huntsville.

Tickets are available at https://gofan.co/event/1678482?schoolId=FL87505. A tournament pass is $100, and individual day passes are $20.

All games will be streamed at https://www.njcaa.org/network. A tournament pass is available for $30, and a day pass costs $12. The national championship game can be streamed for $5.

Pellissippi State (11-1-2) qualified for the national tournament in its first season as a full NJCAA Division II participant.

"They're talented," Handy said. "With just one loss, they're obviously doing something right. They're dangerous up front and they know how to play. We're going to have to play the correct way and lean into our experience playing in a tough league to make sure we're ready for every scenario."

The Aztecs (18-1-0) were ranked fourth in the final poll of the year but moved up to the top seed in the tournament by winning their district. They've won 11 straight.

"They're dangerous going forward," Handy said. "I've seen them score in about 10 or 15 seconds (after kickoff). They've run up the score on a lot of teams. I think the main thing is that game is managing our legs and can we keep in front of them long enough for the game to even out."

Handy's top goal after being eliminated in the Gulf South District semifinals was trying to get as many players to the Joe Hunt Park in the best shape they can be. After 19 games, that's a hard battle.

"We are more healthy than we were in the district tournament, but we're still not 100 percent," he said. "Our group has managed their health all year, so I'm confident they're ready to go."

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