The Gazebo Gazette
DAPHNE (GG) — Mississippi Gulf Coast erupted for three goals in a 12-minute span of the first half for a season-opening win against a ranked opponent, knocking off No. 13 St. Louis 4-0 in Daphne, Ala.
Trey Roche (So., Pass Christian/Pass Christian) had the first two goals to spur the victory.
“We took a lot of the lessons we learned in preseason and applied them,” Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. “As a group, they really focused on fixing some of those things. Every single player that played, they played well.”
Roche opened the scoring in the 28th minute off an assist from Isaac Whitfield (So., Gulfport/Gulfport). Handy called that goal scrappy, but the driving goal he got three minutes later was “elite.”
Aubrey Necaise (So., Gulfport/Gulfport) got his first collegiate goal in the 40th minute for a three-goal halftime advantage. Juan Vargas picked up the assist.
Bas van Baardewijk closed out the scoring late, converting a pass from Leo Vowles.
“We want to be among the top teams in the country,” Handy said. “St. Louis was in the national tournament a year ago, and they’re usually in the national tournament. For us to go out in and win comfortably, I think it’s really important for our boys’ confidence.”
He singled out Michael Baty (So., Gulfport/St. Patrick), Aiden Owens and Ben Myrick as key defensive contributors for the first shutout of the season for Omarion Brown.
Gulf Coast is back in action against another ranked opponent Tuesday, this time against its archrival. The Bulldogs play No. 10 Pearl River in Poplarville with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed at https://prccmedia.com/watchlive/gold/.
For more information on MGCCC’s 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
(Inside Photo: Trey Roche of Pass Christian High School)
