NATCHEZ — The Lady Bulldogs soccer team is in the MHSAA 5A state playoffs for the fourth year in a row, but they’ve still got a long road ahead of them before their first playoff game.

Natchez High has to travel about 220 miles south to play Gulfport High at 6 p.m. today.

“We’re going to try to leave by noon, because after we stop for dinner and everything we expect it to be about a five-and-a-half hour drive,” said head coach Lena Yarbrough. “It’s gonna be a late night, but the girls are excited about it.”

The Lady Bulldogs were runners-up in District 6 behind Terry High, which means they don’t get a home game in the first round.

But regardless of where they play, Yarbrough said her team is happy to be in the postseason.

“The girls feel like they deserve it with our district,” she said. “We’ve definitely improved over the season. Their attitude is really positive, and I’m so proud of them.”

Natchez lost its last two games, to Terry and Cathedral, but Yarbrough said the Lady Bulldogs play between the first matchups with those teams earlier this season to the second games was much improved.

And now that the entire team is expected to be healthy and ready to play tomorrow — two girls got OKs from their doctors Monday to play — the Bulldogs are ready to move to the second round.

But first, they have to get past a tough Gulfport team that won Division 8 this season.

“They’ve always been a real good team, and I’m not sure what to expect,” Yarbrough said. “We’re going to have to have a strong defense.

“They take shots from far out, so we have to have our game faces on to not let them get too close to the goal. They have great passing skills so we will play a girl-on-girl scenario. Everyone’s going to have to play real tight.”

If Natchez defeats Gulfport, they’ll get to play at home in round two against the winner of the Brandon-Pascagoula game.

Yarbrough hopes that scenario pans out so the Bulldogs can have a local cheering section.

“That’d be wonderful,” she said. “I would hope that fan support would be huge for that.”

The Lady Bulldogs were runners up in their district last season as well and were back-to-back division champions the two years before that.

For that reason, Yarbrough said the girls aren’t nervous going into the postseason — they’re just anxious to get started.

“My girls are excited about going and excited about the chance to go,” she said. “They have a great attitude.”