Men's Soccer Earns Third Straight Southeast District Championship

The #3 ranked Daytona State College Men's soccer team traveled to Petersburg, Virginia to play the Southeast District Championship on Saturday, November 5th. There, they faced Region 10 champion, Richard Bland College for the second consecutive year. The victory over the Statesmen was the Falcons sixth win on the road, improving their record to 14-2-1.

"This group has shown so much growth throughout the year. These guys push each other so hard in practice, that it brings out a championship mentality within the group that does not settle for anything less," Coach Jonathan.

The first goal of the game came in the 23rd minute and would be in Richard Bland's favor. A corner kick, that the Falcons were not able to clear from danger, bounced inside the 18-yard box and struck into the back of the net. Both teams recorded four shots in the first half along with two saves for both goalkeepers.

In the second half, the Falcons were slowly beginning to build momentum. Holding the Statesmen to only one shot in the second half, Daytona recorded thirteen shots with eight of them hitting the target. With minutes ticking away, the Falcons found the back of the net for the first time in the 88th minute of the game. Damian Rogers crossed the ball into the back post, where sophomore forward, Christian Cordeiro was waiting wide open to head the ball into the back of the net.

Sophomore forward Christian Cordeiro on Daytona's late comeback, "The game is not over until the final whistle is blown. When you want to succeed more than you want to breath, then you will be successful."

Just thirty seconds later, and with only thirty seconds left on the clock, the Falcons were fouled on their half of the field. Will Diaz sent a long ball into the Statesmen's box finding Sam Nicholson's head. Sam head the ball down into Carlos Zambrano's path, who then volleyed it, finding the top right corner of the Statesmen goal.

Zambrano after the game winning goal, "There was only one thing on our mind, don't stop playing until the whistle is blown. I am happy to have helped the team win this championship, but it was a total team effort. We have such a talented group and I feel like the National Tournament is where we belong."

Coach Bart Sasnett on the match, "the guys found a way to fly high in the second half.  It truly is a testament of belief and hard work for them to score 2 goals in the final minute.  Without question the greatest come back in our program's history.  Richard Bland had a good game plan and was certainly coached up for the occasion.  But in the end the Falcon spirit showed up for the victory." Coach Sasnett continued with, "This was a big time shot from a big-time player (Carlos Zambrano). This kid has worked his tail off all year, offensively and defensively. I was so excited to see him seal the deal for the Falcons."

Daytona State has won 4 Southeast District titles in its 7-year history:

2016, Daytona 2 Eastern Florida 2, 9-8 pks, Ranked #7

2020-21, Daytona 7 USC Lancaster 0, Ranked #3

2021, Daytona 3 Richard Bland 2, Ranked #8

2022, Daytona 2 Richard Bland 1, Ranked #3

Coach Joe's thoughts on the match, "we conceded a goal off one of the two ways we felt as a staff they could score on us, so no surprise. All you can do to be successful is to create plenty of

opportunities, which is what we did. We scored on those two opportunities in the final moments. Great players and teams find ways to win. This team has those characteristics." Coach concluded with, "This team has seen plenty of top-level competition throughout this season and preseason. I feel we have enough talent to compete for our final obstacle."

Next for the Falcons will be the NJCAA National Tournament that will be held at the Orlando Health Stadium in Melbourne, Florida starting on November 13th. The tournament bracket will be released on Tuesday, November 8th, where the Falcons will find out who they will be facing first.