No. 20 Bulldogs nearly shock No. 1 NWCC

PERKINSTON — No. 20 Mississippi Gulf Coast was seconds away from shocking No. 1 Northwest Mississippi here Friday at Bary Thrash Field. The Bulldogs had scored a late tying goal, but the Rangers won it 2-1 with a goal with 17 seconds left.

“It’s heartbreaking to concede that late, but we took the No. 1 team to the wire,” Gulf Coast coach Ryan Joiner said. “The girls fought, but that’s the game of soccer. It’s 90 minutes.”

It was the first loss of the season for the Bulldogs, who fall to 5-1-1 and 2-1-1 in MACCC play.

Northwest (9-0, 4-0) got the first goal on an eighth-minute penalty. The Bulldogs created some chances during the next 80 minutes but opened up the offense late trying to steal a point. Or more.

The tying goal came right out of the gameplan. A long free kick by keeper Laurel Conley (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) was pushed ahead by Bri Gasaway (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) into the path of Linda Mustered (Fr., Biloxi/St. Patrick). She carried the ball deep into the left corner of the area and shot across the goal. The ball deflected off a Rangers player into the net in the 88^th minute.

“We knew tonight they’d be pushing players forward and we could play in wide space and get the ball in the box. The goal deflected off their player, and we had a chance to steal all three points when Linda was in, but the legs were gone from defending for 90 minutes. I’m very happy with the girls, but they’ll be disappointed.”

Northwest had a free kick in their own end with 33 seconds, and it was able to get the ball into the area. The Rangers’ last shot eluded Laurel Conley (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs), who had been magnificent. She had 14 saves, many of them top quality.

“Laurel was unreal,” Joiner said. “She’s the best goalkeeper in the conference, maybe in the country. She works so hard, and she’ll be disappointed, but she kept us in the game. She made six or seven big-time saves.”

The MACCC has an open date on Tuesday, so the Bulldogs will be back in action next Friday with a trip to Itawamba. Kickoff in Fulton is set for 1 p.m. 

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