PERKINSTON – No. 5 Jones College struck first, but No. 9 Mississippi Gulf Coast rallied with two unanswered goals to eliminate the Bobcats, 2-1, in the NJCAA Region 23/Gulf District Quarterfinals Friday night at Bulldog Soccer Field.
The loss dropped Jones' record to 12-4-1 overall, while Gulf Coast (13-3-1) advanced to Wednesday's Region 23 semifinals in Poplarville where they'll meet Holmes at 10:30 a.m.
Maylee Levens gave the Bobcats an early advantage in the 12th minute, kneeing in an Abby Duncan corner kick to put Jones in front 1-0.
Gulf Coast answered in the 28th minute when Reagan Chancelor finished a pass from Vanessa Radojevic to even the match at 1-1.
The two nationally-ranked teams went into halftime deadlocked, with each side recording four shots in a tightly contested opening 45 minutes.
Jones keeper Darby Ford stuffed Radojevic's penalty kick early in the second half to keep it deadlocked, but the Bulldogs grabbed their first lead in the 67th minute when she scored on a long free kick in from Macie Barham.
Jones managed five second-half shots but couldn't find the equalizer, as Gulf Coast held on to defeat the Bobcats for the second time this season.
The Bulldogs also claimed a 2-1 victory in Ellisville on Oct. 6, scoring twice on their only two shots on goal in that contest.
Jones finished with a narrow 9-8 advantage in shots, while both teams put four attempts on goal. Gulf Coast held a 6-5 edge in corner kicks.
Ford played all 90 minutes in goal for Jones, recording two saves. Gulf Coast goalkeeper Kaylee Tardo finished with three stops.
Jones' resume is strong for an NJCAA Tournament At-Large bid, but they'll have to wait and see later next week when the participants are announced.
