Holmes, Gulf Coast to battle tomorrow in NJCAA Pool Play
RIDGELAND --- The No. 2 ranked and No. 4 NJCAA Tournament seed Holmes Community College Lady Bulldogs continues pool play Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. against No. 5 and No. 5 NJCAA Tournament seed Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
Holmes comes into the match 16-2 while Gulf Coast is 13-3-1. Holmes defeated Gulf Coast in MACCC play, 2-1, in the regular season. In the NJCAA Tournament, Holmes defeated Rock Valley, 3-0, on Sunday while Gulf Coast knocked off Rock Valley, 2-0, Monday.
Leading scorers for the Lady Bulldogs include: Tyler Grace Sims (NW Rankin), 6 goals, 9 assists, 20 points; Mallory Sutton (Saint Amant, La.), 7 goals, 5 assists, 19 points; Kate Gray Nesbit (NW Rankin), 7 goals, 2 assists, 16 points; and Emma Korhonen (Foley, Ala.), 5 goals, 6 assists, 16 points.; Kaylee Avant (Newton County), 5 goals, 4 assists, 14 points; and Maddie Caldwell (Jackson Prep), 6 goals, 2 assists, 14 points. The Lady Bulldogs are scoring 2.94 goals per match and are giving up less than one goal per match.
Aly Vancor (NW Rankin) and Lilly Callum (Madison Central) have split time in goal. Vancor has 775 minutes in goal, 22 saves and three goals against. Callum has 810 minutes in goal, seven goals against and 47 saves.
Laylah Johnson leads Gulf Coast with 11 goals, 7 assists and 29 points. Other leaders include: Anna Katherine Thriffiley with 10 goals, 6 assists and 26 points; and Linda Mustered with 9 goals, 7 assists and 25 points. Gulf Coast scored 3.5 goals per game and gives up less than one per game.
Gulf Coast has given up 13 goals this season. Laurel Conley and Kaylee Trado have both played in goal for Gulf Coast. Conley has 1210 minutes,13 goals given up and 71 saves while Tardo has 300 minutes, 0 goals given up and four saves.
Tickets
Tickets for the tournament can be purchased at https://www.visitwichita.com/get-tickets/. Prices are $60 for an all session pass, $20 for a day pass; $15 for a student day pass; children five and under are free.
Stream
The entirety of the 2025 NJCAA DII Men's and Women's Soccer Championship will be broadcast live on the NJCAA Network at https://www.njcaa.org/network/landing/index and will be available to view on-demand at the conclusion of each contest. The NJCAA Network is available through a variety of pay-per-view pricing options: Day Pass - $12; Tournament Pass - $20; and All-Access Pass (all 2024-24 NJCAA Championship events) - $100.
Tournament website
The official tournament website can be found at https://njcaachampionship.prestosports.com/sports/wsoc/div2/headlines-featured.
Past History in the Tournament
The 2020-21 season was the first season for a NJCAA Division II Tournament, and the Lady Bulldogs made an appearance in Evans, Ga. Holmes went 2-0 in pool play and then defeated Heartland, 2-1, in double OT before falling to Phoenix in the National Championship game.
In 2021-22, the Lady Bulldogs played two pool games and went 1-1 and were unable to advance to the semifinals. The tournament was held in Wichita, Kansas.
In 2022-23, the Lady Bulldogs went 1-0-1 in pool play and advanced to the semifinals on penalty kicks. Holmes defeated Jones, 2-1, in the semifinals before falling to Phoenix in the National Championship Game. The tournament was held in Tucson, Ariz.
In 2023-24, the Lady Bulldogs went 2-0 in pool play and fell to Jones in the semifinals. The tournament was held in Tucson, Ariz.
In 2024-25, the Lady Bulldogs went 2-0 in pool play and fell to Northwest in the semifinals. The tournament was held in Huntsville, Ala.