Battle of Region 8’s Top 2, Falcons Fall 2-1
Daytona Beach, FL (dscfalcons.com)- The Daytona State Falcons suffered its first loss on the season to the Eastern Florida State Titans 2-1 in Thursday night's Region 8 showdown in Melbourne, FL.
"Our program has been looking forward to this game against Eastern Florida. They've been the bar by which everyone evaluates their ability within the NJCAA, so to have the chance to play them is an excellent opportunity. I thought the game was everything you would want from a competition. Both teams competed and fought to the very end," said Coach Brittany Jones.
The first half of the game saw relatively few shots from either side, with the only real opportunities coming in the last 10 minutes of the first half. In the 37th minute, the Titans capitalized on a Falcon turn over in the middle of the field, where it became a foot race between the Titan front runner and the Falcon backs. Kristian Shores (New Symrna, FL), arguably one of the top players of the match, was able to come off her line taking the Titan player on 1v1 and deflect the shot and the defensive line was able to clear it away safely.
One minute later, center mid fielder Kaila Armstrong (Broomfield, CO) found Naomi Gurrola (Broomfield, CO) on the right flank, who was able to beat the outside back and get a cross into an oncoming Michaella Krebser (Bradenton, FL) volleying it past the Titan keeper. This marks Kreber's 7th goal on the season.
The Titans' next offensive threat came in the final minute of the half, when a Titan front runner broke through the Falcons' back line again, creating another 1v1 situation against Shores, who was able to get a hand on the ball. The deflection landed at the feet of an oncoming Titan forward, who shot for the equalizer, only to be denied by Tyler Einsmann (Bradenton, FL) who made a spectacular sliding save on the line with only seconds remaining in the half.
After halftime, both teams found new energy and the game saw an increase in intensity and physicality. The Titan's scored their first goal on a great individual effort by Nathali Da Silva receiving a ball from Darien Davis beating Shores with a finish into the upper 90. The Falcons found themselves trailing only 5 minutes later as Da Silva once again finished to the left side of the goal. Shores went on to make five saves in the second half, keeping the game within reach. Despite the shift in momentum during the middle of the 2nd half, the Falcons continued to push and were able to generate 6 shots on goal in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Although disappointed in the result the Falcons put forth a great deal of effort in a game that could have easily been won by either team. "These are the types of games that are important for teams as they reveal character and challenge resiliency. Obviously we are disappointed in the result, but I am pleased with our performance. We made one too many mistakes and were punished. In my mind we needed this challenge and I know my team will respond positively to the set back" stated Coach Jones.
LOOKING AHEAD- The Falcons continue Region 8 play on Saturday (10/22) and Monday (10/24). Their first match will see them take on Polk State College at 4pm in Daytona Beach. The Eagles are coming off of a 9-2 victory over ASA Miami on Thursday. On Monday the Falcons will face Eastern Florida at home; 4pm kick off.
Both games will be important in terms of Region 8 seeding for the upcoming conference tournament to be held in Melbourne, FL (10/28 & 10/30). All home games for DSC are played at Embry Riddle University on their turf multipurpose field.