Daytona Beach, FL- Falcons Defeat Eastern Florida State for Region 8 Championship

The Daytona State Falcons finished their regular season 11-1-1, and once again secured the title of Region 8 Champions, after defeating region rival, Eastern Florida State College, on the road, 2-0 last Wednesday evening. Daytona State won the 2 out of 3 series and will now play for the Southeast District Championship 11/6, hosted by the winner of Region 10.  This is the second time Daytona has won the Region 8 championship title since their first season in 2016 where they similarly defeated Eastern Florida on the road 4-1 to claim the title.

The match was a back-and-forth battle, with the Falcon’s out shooting the Titans 20-9.  At halftime, the match was scoreless on both ends of the field, however this would not remain the case coming into the second half as sophomore phenom, Yutaro Tsukada, found the back of the net 7 minutes into the half from an in-swinging cross sent by teammate, Vander Rocha.  “These two guys play so well together!” stated Head Coach, Bart Sasnett.  This was Yutaro’s 17^th goal of the season, and a new regular season record for the Falcons Men’s Soccer program.  After Yutaro’s goal, just minutes later, Rocha who had the assist in the previous goal, would find the back of the net with a long-range rocket shot.  The assist came from the Falcon’s standout Left Back, Mimy Schinieder.  The Falcons defense also had an outstanding and notable night on the road against the Titans, earning another clean sheet for Sophomore goalkeeper, Will Diaz.  Daytona’s defense, anchored by Sophomore standout, Prince Nwabudike, has earned 7 shutouts (tied for program best) this season.  An impressive feat considering the team is said to have the 7^th hardest schedule in the country according to the Massey Index.

Curtez Kellman had to slide back to a familiar spot at Center Back due after Brett Ramsey suffered an injury just minutes into the match.  Kellman, a transfer to Daytona State who played for Eastern Florida on their 2019 National Tournament team, certainly has a unique perspective having the opportunity to play for two National powerhouse programs. “Gaining the opportunity to represent both programs has been great.  One time being rivalry and the next time playing [against] the rivals, winning on both occasions, without conceding a goal is something amazing that rarely happens in the lovely sport of soccer.  The match against our rival [Eastern Florida] was a great match.  We knew going into the match what to expect and knew it was going to be a tough battle.  We took the little details coach gave to us, applied it, and got the results we wanted.”

 “The Daytona soccer team accomplished something extremely difficult this past week.  Playing your rival back-to-back in playoff competition.  The team played with confidence displayed discipline and accomplished the goal of winning the region and moving onto the southeast district final.  These boys showed the character of a championship team.”  said Assistant Coach Joe Avallone on the sweep of Eastern. “Coach Joe has been invaluable to our program.  I truly believe he has been a catalyst for bringing Daytona back to the national spotlight.   We are truly lucky to have a world class coach like Joe on our staff!” stated Head Coach Bart Sasnett.