Mink's hat trick emphatically break skid

PERKINSTON — No. 13 Mississippi Gulf Coast, led by Alexander Mink's hat trick, broke a two-game losing streak in decisive fashion Friday at Bary Thrash Field. 

The Bulldogs beat Georgia Military 4-1 in an afternoon match, giving coach Chris Handy his 150th win.

"It's been a tough couple of weeks," he said. "We've been having trouble scoring goals. To be able to score more than one means a lot to the group, particularly right before conference play. I wish we would have gotten the shutout, which was the focus for the day, but we'll just keep working, trying to get better."

Mink scored twice in a minute span of the first half, the first coming after the Bulldogs hit the crossbar. The rebound wound up at his feet, and he beat one defender before putting a shot past the keeper in the lower right-hand corner.

The second came in the 41^st minute, giving the Bulldogs more cushion before the break.

Trey Roche (Fr., Pass Christian/Pass Christian) won a ball at the edge of the box in the 51^st minute, nodding it in the direction of Tobias Buch (So., Skovlunde, Denmark/Borupgaard Gymnasium). He headed over the onrushing keeper.

Mink's third goal came off the scramble following a corner. He headed calmly past the keeper for the final margin.

"Even though we gave him more of a defensive role today, he still managed to really impact the game," Handy said. "He's the engine that makes us go."

Georgia Military is now 2-2-1.

Gulf Coast opens MACCC play Tuesday when Meridian visits. Kickoff at Perk is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets, and the game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

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