Cynde Puckett
In Motion Staff Writer
As fall 2016 classes came to an end, Daytona State College broke ground for a new $3.2 million state-of-the-art soccer complex expected to be ready by August 2017.
“This is an exciting time for collegiate soccer at Daytona State,” said DSC President Tom LoBasso. “Already, our teams have seen extraordinary success in their first season. Our new soccer complex will be an outstanding sports venue that will attract a loyal Falcon fan base. Equally significant, it will become a learning laboratory for students in our upcoming sports-broadcasting degree program.”
Under coach Bart Sasnett, the men’s team earned Region 8 and Southeast District championships this year and an appearance at the NJCAA National Tournament in Tyler, Texas, where it advanced through the quarterfinals before being eliminated by the No. 2 seed Monroe College from New York. The women’s team went 11-3 and was ranked among the NJCAA’s top 20 teams. Six Falcons earned All-region honors, while Brittany Jones was named Region 8 Coach of the Year.
The new field, located on the north side of the campus, will be an asset to the College’s soccer teams, which will now have a home field after previously sharing one with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for home games.
“I know each and every one of the players here today is proud. It’s hard to describe the feeling of excitement that all of us have. It’s even harder to describe the gratitude for the soccer program as a whole. We look to continue our success on a field that we can truly call home,” said Kevin Steele, a freshmen on the men’s soccer team.
With seating for more than 800, it also will feature restrooms, a press box and concession area. The new complex will offer a 30-by-25 foot, high-definition video scoreboard as well .
“This facility will provide a venue for soccer practices, training, scrimmages, games, tournaments as well as future homecoming activities and broader community events and activities,” said Will Dunne, DSC’s Dean of Health, Wellness and Intercollegiate Athletics. “During the past 9-12 months we have spent significant time drafting and preparing a bid proposal that we submitted in August to the National Junior College Athletic Association to be considered to host the Men’s Division I National Championship Event in the years 2018, 2019 and 2020.”
For students interested in sports-broadcasting, the new soccer complex will also offer the opportunity to learn in a real-world setting as part of DSC’s new Associate of Science in Broadcast Television Production degree, beginning fall 2017.