Men’s Soccer Wins Region 8 Championship Over Eastern Florida

The Daytona State Men's Soccer Team (13-2-1) won the Region 8 Championship on Saturday, October 29th. The Falcons traveled to Melbourne, FL to take on Eastern Florida State College in the final game of a three-game series. Both teams went in with a 3-1 win over each other, making for an even match up.

Coach Sasnett on the Falcons win, "The guys had to dig deep to find a way to win. Credit to Eastern and the coaching staff. They came out firing on all cylinders, but the Daytona spirit and heart found a way to win. I'm so happy for this group of players who have gotten better each week for the betterment of Daytona."  

The match started very fast, seeing Eastern take an early advantage over the Falcons with a goal in the 9th minute of the match. A dangerous cross up the Falcons right side found the Titans leading goal scorer (Jack Nelson). The Falcons were outshot in the first half 5-3, with goalkeeper, Will Diaz, recording 2 saves in the first half, one of which kept the Falcons from going down 2-0.

Going into the second half trailing, the Falcons responded with an early goal for themselves just 40 seconds into the half. Lisandro "Lichu" Molina hit a right footed strike from 30 yards out to catch the Titans goalkeeper by surprise. Lisandro's goal would be the last goal in the match, forcing the game into overtime.

"We found the talented Argentinian from our top recruiting agency based out of Florida, Cristian Neagu, Strive4soccer. Lichu was playing indoor in Tampa, Fl when Neagu noticed him and called me to make sure I knew of this hidden talent. We have worked with Cristian on over half a dozen players. We trust him and in this business that's everything." Coach Sasnett continued, "Lisandro is a 3.6 GPA student, with loads of skill, loads of talent and an overall great kid. Lichu has hit several BANGERS for the Falcons this season, this one being the most important so far."

We asked Lisandro Molina about his contribution, "I think it was a difficult game, we played on their field. We didn't play the game we wanted but I think that something that makes this team is that we fight until the end and that's what we did. I was lucky to be able to score and help the team and I hope to be able to continue doing it in the remaining games. there is no doubt that we are going for the national championship."

Neither team was able to break the deadlock during the 20 minutes of overtime, taking the game into penalty kicks. Five Falcons stepped up to the penalty spot (Christian Cordeiro, Sam Nicholson, Carlos Zambrano, Dew Yingcherdsuk, and Kevin Kelly), each converting their kick. Diaz came up big in the shootout, saving the Titans 4th penalty kick ultimately leading the Falcons to the Region 8 Championship. "It was great to see the team not give up. Players coming off the bench did what was asked of them. Making that final pk save felt amazing. It helped the team win and that's all I ever want to do," Sophomore captain and goalkeeper Will Diaz after the match.

Coach Sasnett concluded with, "we had been practicing PKs for a week. Those guys had ice water in their veins. Kelly sealed the deal under enormous pressure."

The Men's Soccer Team are 3-1-1 in last 5 matches vs Coastal Rival. This was only the second time beating them in pks. The last time was in the 2016 Southeast District Final, 9-8. Daytona's all-time record versus Eastern is 7-8-2. This is now Daytona's third Region 8 Championship.

The Falcons next match will be in the Southeast District Championship where they will travel to Petersburg, VA to take on Richard Bland College. Kickoff is set for Saturday, November 5th at 12PM.