A thrilling top-10 battle didn’t go the way Mississippi Gulf Coast hoped it would have, but the No. 10 Bulldogs will leave Milledgeville, Ga., pleased with a lot of what they saw.

 

They lost 3-2 in the final two minutes of the second overtime on No. 3 Georgia Military’s home field.

 

“It was a lot of fun, to be honest with you,” Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. “Yes, we would like the (win), but the team showed a lot of fight, which is exciting for us. They really wanted that game. If not for a few miscues, they would have had it.”

 

The Bulldogs (1-1) rallied from two goals down in the second half to force overtime. Mason Shortt (Fr., Brandon/Northwest Rankin) earned a penalty for Gulf Coast which Hyungjoon Lee (So., Suwon, South Korea/Dongbuk) converted with 25 minutes left in regulation to cut a 2-0 deficit in half.

 

Seongbin Son (So., Seoul, South Korea/Guhyun) tied it up 12 minutes later when his corner was deflected by a GMC player into his own net.

 

Georgia Military has won five straight against Gulf Coast, including a pair of victories last year. The first was a 4-0 loss at Perk, and the second was a 1-0 loss in the first game of the NJCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Championship pool play.

 

Handy said Saturday’s effort was more encouraging.

 

“The boys played hard and well,” he said. “It’s something to build off of, for sure.”

 

Gulf Coast doesn’t get much of a chance to rest. The Bulldogs play at Andrew College at 3 p.m. Sunday after a three-hour bus ride. Handy will utilize the squad’s depth tomorrow.”

 

“It’s a very deep team, so I look forward to relying on some of those guys so they can try to prove some points to the staff that they should be playing in the bigger games,” he said. “They’ll get the chance to run out there and be productive. We’ve still got guys we like who haven’t gotten major minutes so far. Tomorrow will be a good opportunity for those guys.”

 

For more information on MGCCC’s 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.