No. 5 Bulldogs celebrate Sophomore Night, highest ranking ever

PERKINSTON — Tuesday afternoon, Mississippi Gulf Coast found out it had moved up to No. 5 in the NJCAA Division II Women's Soccer Poll. The Bulldogs celebrated the program's highest-ever ranking and Sophomore Night with a 3-0 win over Copiah-Lincoln.

"I don't think we're at our best for the majority of the game, but the sign of a good team is one that overcomes a little bit of adversity," Gulf Coast coach Ryan Joiner said. "They found a way to score some good goals, and we played all of our available players tonight and got the honor of sophomores."

Gulf Coast (8-2-1, 6-1-1 MACCC) moved into a second-place tie with Northwest, which lost to Holmes earlier in the day. Co-Lin is 5-4-2, 3-3-2.

The Bulldogs took the lead in the 23^rd minute when Reagan Chancelor (Fr., Hattiesburg/Oak Grove) headed a corner at the back post across the face of goal. Gracee Michini (So., Lucedale/George County) headed it in.

Linda Mustered (So., Biloxi/St. Patrick) got to the end line in the 42^nd minute and slotted back for Vanessa Radojevic (Fr., Sciez, France/Lycee De La Versoie), who coolly made it 2-0.

Radojevic's shot in the 52^nd minute rattled the crossbar, and Anna Katherine Thriffiley (Fr., Biloxi/St. Patrick) pounced for the final score.

"We played eight girls across the back," Joiner said. "We felt very comfortable in possession, and I think they had one shot on target. Laurel (Conley) made a big save in the first half, and other than that, everything was pretty much controlled from us."

Gulf Coast was celebrating a sophomore class that has won 17 games and counting in their Bulldogs career. The group includes Laurel Conley (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs), Gracee Michini (So., Lucedale/George County), Linda Mustered (So., Biloxi/St. Patrick), Ava Green (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs), Bri Gasaway (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs), Hailey Moore (So., Biloxi/Biloxi), Jennifer Lopez (So., Gautier/Gautier), Amelia Kidd (So., Bay St. Louis/Bayou Academy), Libby Fraser (So., Cambridge, England/Hills Road College), Josey Smith (So., Bay St. Louis/Hancock), Millie Jebb-Geer (So., Dronfield, England/Dronfield Henry Fanshawe) and Laylah Johnson (So., Gulfport/Gulfport).

"They came into a bit of an unknown situation on where the program was going, but they believed in our journey and believed in our potential to be a really sound program," Joiner said. "I know when I spoke to them after the game, they were they were looking forward to playing again and continuing to push this team forward. They're a good group of leaders and most importantly, a great group of young women who have a really sound foundation from their homes."

Gulf Coast has Friday off before a trip to Scooba to play East Mississippi next Tuesday. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.

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