Falcons Open Strong in First Weekend Test
The Daytona State College Men's Soccer Team opened up this past weekend playing three games in three days. All-in-all the weekend was a successful one as the Falcons went 2-0-1 against the competition.
Recap
8/24/18
The Falcons faced Georgia Military College who are currently ranked 13th in the NJCAA. After a long fought battle that lasted through two overtime periods, the Falcons and Bulldogs came out tied 1-1.
The Bulldogs got on the board first early into the 2nd half after a ball dropped inside the box and was miss cleared. Daytona goalkeeper Carlos Melendez saved the first shot but the defense mishit the first clearance and the Bulldogs capitalized on the opportunity.
Shortly after, Dakotah Casale took a perfect corner kick that connected with freshman head Pablo Vargas who netted a goal right passed the GMC keeper, making the score tied at 1-1 and taking the game into overtime.
The Falcons dominated the remainder of the match, out shooting their opponent 16-9. The Falcons hit the post four times in the overtime periods but could not seem to get the ball into the back of the net.
"Our boys fought hard and did not give up," said head coach Bart Sasnett. "I'm glad we got to play a tough opponent like Georgia Military as our first match. It will better prepare us to face our opponents in Region 8. The Bulldogs were well coached and organized and we look forward to seeing them again in two weeks."
8/25/18
In game two of day two, the Falcons faced one of the top teams out of Mississippi, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. The Falcons defeated the Bulldogs 5-3.
The Bulldogs got on the board early with a 1-0 lead. That did not last long when the Volusia County Seabreeze High School duo got into rhythm. Freshman Franco Perez took a long throw in to teammate Cole Tepper who headed the ball right passed the keeper. Shortly after the Bulldogs scored again. Immediately following that, the duo came back with another long throw from Perez who found the head of Tepper once again, putting the ball right passed the keeper. It seemed to be a back-and-forth scoring battle as the bulldogs put another goal in right before halftime, making the score 3-2.
Changing the lineup, the Falcons came out revamped and scored within the first minute. Sophomore Creggton Charlton whipped in a cross to find the head of freshman John Nalus who beamed the ball passed the keeper. With momentum on their side, the Falcons kept pressing their opponent and took over the game. Freshman Alex Fuentes was the next to get on the scoreboard with another assist from Creggton Charlton. But Charlton wasn't done just yet. With a pass from John Nalus, Charlton beat three defenders and put the ball right passed the keeper, making the score 5-3 and ending the game.
8/26/18
Game three of day three finally arrived. The Falcons faced another opponent out of Mississippi, Meridian Community College. The Falcons defeated the Eagles 6-0.
Early into the match, sophomore Christopher Nagy got his first collegiate goal with an assist from sophomore Creggton Charlton. After assisting his teammate, Charlton went into a smooth rhythm and scored back-to-back goals against the Eagles, making the score 3-0 going into halftime.
Coach Sasnett emptied the bench going into the 2nd half. Two freshman also got their first collegiate goals for Daytona State. Corey Wilson beat numerous Eagle defenders and netted a shot passed the goalkeeper. Shortly after, Luke Piveral scored back-to-back goals, making the score now 6-0 to end the game.
"I am glad to see so many different players scoring for our program," said Sasnett. "We have a lot of depth this year and that is going to help us later on in the season."
The Falcons will host their first home match on September the 2nd against Northeast Community College at 11 AM at the Daytona State College Soccer Complex.