Following a long and grueling regular season, the Bear Men's Soccer Program is poised to make a postseason run. Their first obstacle will come Saturday as the Bears will make the drive to Poplarville to face Pearl River at 7 p.m. in the first round of the MACCC Men's Soccer Playoffs.
 
"We've worked hard to get here and we knew the challenges," Southwest head coach Zach Mills said. "For me, especially, being able to bring in Coach Ivan (Bastida) last year and Coach Josh (Pooler) this year has been a God-send and a blessing. It means the world to us as a coaching staff, as a team and to hopefully the school."
 
The Bears, who finished with a regular season record of 7-5-4 overall and 4-5-2 in MACCC Conference Play will face the Wildcats for the third time this year. In their first meeting, a non-conference match on Sept. 1, the Bears pulled out a 2-0 home win behind goals from Jeysson Cruz and Justin Ruiz. Their second meeting was during conference play and came on Oct. 3 in Poplarville and ended in a 1-1 tie.
 
Of all of the matches played this season, Mills believes that the first one against Pearl River really defined his team.
 
"The first game against PRCC where we won 2-0, that is the one that set the tone," he said. "Obviously, 'The River' is a very good team but obviously the boys stepped up and it was nice to see them come together, get the shutout and get a couple of really nice goals. And for us especially since we have to play 'The River' on Saturday it is a good reminder that we can do it. It is not going to be easy and it is definitely going to be a tough fight but the boys knowing that they can (win), it is going to mean a lot.
 
One of the biggest obstacles for the Bears this season has been injuries, but Southwest has found a way to get around that having reserves step up and fill the void.
 
Looking at Pearl River, Mills sees a team that has plenty of weapons.
 
"They have a lot of fire power up top," he said. "They have good fast, intense players. We have to be smart, smooth and find their weaknesses."
 
Saturday's game also marks the first JUCO playoff experience for the current Bears roster but Mills looks at his players' success on the high school level and playing in big games there, adding that they are no stranger to the spotlight.
 
"The coaching staff, we all have that experience, we have that high-level experience," he said. " The players that we brought in have big game experience at their respective levels (in high school). Our captain Caleb Trisdale, he was part of a Northwest Rankin Team that was always in the playoffs. He is hungry to end his Junior College career with a win."
 
In addition to Trisdale, the Bears also boast playmakers in leading scorer Justin Ruiz, Sergio Padin and Nico Fischer, to name a few, coupled with the leadership of Sammy Velasquez, Landon Gagliano, Holden Helms and Loan Marin who was named Conference Goalkeeper of the Week four times and National Goalkeeper of the Week once.   
 
And while he was thankful for his time as both the Southwest Men's and Women's Soccer Head Coach in the past, Mills is equally grateful to get to focus on just the men's team and he believes the lighter workload has helped him find success this season.
 
"It is night and day, it is incredible how much it has helped," he said. "The coaching staff and I have been able to focus on one team and really the way that they challenge me to make sure that I am making the right calls and hopefully I am teaching them all that I can. That has brought more energy this season and for us to take that to the guys, I know that they appreciate it. I wanted to do my best for both teams (last season) but it is really, really difficult being pulled in two directions at the same time."
 
Mills says that he is thankful to have Coaches Bastida and Pooler on his staff this year adding that they bring different elements but at the same time they all share similar strategies.
 
"He (Bastida) knows the game, he knows the X's and O's like crazy," Mills said. "As a head coach you want to sit back and tweak sessions or practices but with him I feel like I'm never changing anything. It is cool to see Josh come in too, he specializes in goalkeepers. When we bring them in, everyday it feels new, refreshed, invigorated and it has definitely been hard to explain how nice it has been."
 
Another factor in preparation for Saturday is making sure the kids are in the right frame of mind mentally and Mills believes his kids understand what is at stake and that there is no room for error.
 
"All year it has been 'we have the next game' but that doesn't happen in the playoffs," he said. "But I think mentally, they are ready."