Following a heart-breaking loss to Pearl River on Friday, the Lady Bears hoped for a change in fortune in a road match Tuesday night against Mississippi Gulf Coast. And despite playing hard, Southwest could not pull it out in the end, falling 2-1 to the Lady Bulldogs in non-conference action.
 
"We struggled a little bit on the offensive side trying to find our opportunities, but we battled," Southwest head coach Nicole Cooper said. 
 
In the first half, both the Lady Bears (1-3) and the Lady Bulldogs engaged in a back-and-forth battle trying to be the first one to strike. However, no goals were scored through the first 45:00 of play.
 
It wasn't long in the second half before a team lit up their side of the scoreboard. Unfortunately, it was the hosts as they put Southwest down 1-0 with a goal in the 54^th minute.
 
The Lady Bears continued to fight, and their efforts paid off just over 17:00 later when Caroline Barcelona got a pass from Jennifer Neal before sending a lofty shot from about 45 yards out past the leaping Gulf Coast goalkeeper and into the net for the score.
 
Southwest tried to add another and take its first lead of the contest, but the Lady Bulldogs provided the follow-up and eventual game-deciding goal with just over 4:00 to go.
 
The Lady Bears will be back in action on Tuesday, as they visit Hinds at 5 p.m.