Vicksburg coach Kevin Manton is hoping tradition and a strong regular season schedule pays off big for the Missy Gators today when they host Saltillo in a Class 4A second-round playoff game at Memorial Stadium.

Soccer Playoffs

Class 4A second round

Today, 2 p.m.

Saltillo at Vicksburg

The Missy Gators (14-8) earned a home playoff match by beating Center Hill 2-1 in double overtime Monday night in Olive Branch. Saltillo (13-6) advanced to the second round after beating West Lauderdale 4-1 in Collinsville on Tuesday.

Manton expects the Lady Tigers to present a tough challenge for his team.

“Four of their losses were to Oxford and Pontotoc. Oxford is at Pearl on Saturday. The good thing there is if we win, we host, whether it’s Pearl or Oxford,” Manton said.

“Saltillo has a pretty good mix of players. They have some good players and good complimentary players,” Manton said. “They’ve got 13 wins but I don’t know if they have played the competition we have. I hoping schedule matters.”

Vicksburg has lost twice to Pearl, a contender for the 4A title, and 5A power Clinton. The Missy Gators’ turnaround came in a late season win against Ridgeland.

“That’s where we got it rolling. We had a tremendous game against Ridgeland,” Manton said.

Diari Gilliam, who scored both goals at Center Hill. agreed.

“Ridgeland was a big confidence booster for us,” Gilliam said.

Last year, Vicksburg stayed home from the playoffs after suffering through a 4-12 mark, the worst for a program that has won five state championships,

“We had a nasty season last year, but this year, we’ve started playing together. We get along better,” Gilliam said.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com.