In what started out as a competitive contest unfortunately got away from Southwest as the Lady Bears fell to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Lady Bulldogs 6-2 Friday evening in Perkinston.

"We struggled defensively tonight," Southwest head coach Nicole Cooper said. "I thought that we were playing with good intensity. Our big positive (tonight) was that they (Gulf Coast) have not been scored on all year and these were the first two goals that they have given up this year."

After Gulf Coast struck first with a goal in the seventh minute, the Lady Bears (3-3-2) battled back and tied the match less than a minute later as Caroline Barcelona sent one in the net after getting an assist from Mary Claire McCurley.

Unfortunately, that was the closes tthat Southwest would get for the remainder of the match. Gulf Coast rallied to score two more goals in the first half, putting the Lady Bears in a 3-1 hole at the intermission.

The momentum stayed on the home side as Gulf Coast added three more scores in the 62^nd, 64^th and 75^th minutes. Despite the deficit, the Lady Bears showed great fight and got a score with just over a minute to go when Evie Peet set up Kayla Martin for a goal, making the score the eventual final.

The Lady Bears return home to host Meridian Tuesday at 5 p.m.