Owen McCall
In Motion Staff Writer
It was another hot and humid September afternoon in Florida. The sun shone bright. The pitch was cut and a nice green. It was perfect soccer weather.
With the FIFA World Cup in Russia concluding a few months ago, the world was diagnosed with the soccer fever that hits every four years. But, there’s lots of great soccer not seen on a big stage and today was one of those days.
The Daytona State Falcons men’s soccer team was set to play the Georgia Military College Bulldogs on Sept. 9. Going into this match, both teams had equal records of 3 wins, no losses, and 1 tie. That tie was to each other at Georgia Military College on Aug. 24.
After a 20-minute warmup and the playing of the National Anthem, the Daytona match began. With the starting goalkeepers — Carlos Melendez for the Falcons and Tim Dolan for the visiting Bulldogs — the Falcons were able to get the ball moving nicely in the early stages, but weren’t able to seal the deal. Defensively, the Falcons were able to stop GMC from getting shots on the goal.
The first goal of the match was scored by the Falcons in the 11th minute by Creggton Charleton. Both sides were showing great hustle and moving quickly. The match was at a brisk pace, the clock stopping only for an obligatory water break in each half due to the heat and for large penalties. GMC punched in a goal in the 19th minute. In the 33rd minute, Charleton punched in another goal for DSC, giving the Falcons a 2-1 advantage. DSC’s Dakotah Casale almost had a goal, but it was called back due to an offsides penalty.
Meanwhile, players on the women’s DSC team were sitting in the stands cheering on their male counterparts. When the second half began quickly, GMC came dangerously close to scoring a few times. But Dakotah Casale nabbed his second goal in the 83rd minute to give the Falcons the 4-3 advantage. In the waning stages of the match, the Falcons buckled down defensively and attempted to play keep-away from the Bulldogs. When the clock struck 0:00, the Falcons won 4-3.
In total, the Falcons had 8 shots on the goal and two saves, while the Bulldogs had 5 shots on the goal and four saves. The Falcons improve to a 5-0-1 record, while the Bulldogs fall to 3-1-1.
On Sept. 15, the Falcons played the Thomas University Junior Varsity squad. The Falcons entered the game with a record of 5-1-1 and the Night Hawks were 2-0-0 entering the match. Carlos Melendez was the goalkeeper for DSC once again, with the Night Hawks goalkeeper being Helmis Alvarez. A few early offsides penalties slowed both teams down, but Thomas jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal by Kane Brown in the 18th minute.
After the Thomas goal, the weather rolled in, and the match was put into a lightning delay in the 32nd minute. Each strike of lightning detected in a 10-mile radius adds half an hour to the delay, so it ran just over an hour. The match resumed after a brief warmup period, and the first half finished without much excitement.
At halftime, we caught up with Daytona State defender Sergio Molina. He wasn’t playing since he’s recovering from a concussion, but he was there to support his teammates. The freshman from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, said he feels this year’s team is very good. With only one loss he is optimistic about the Falcon’s chances of a national championship.
Halftime was shortened due to the delay, and the Falcons came out swinging. Much of the second half was played around the Thomas University goal, with DSC outshooting TU on the goal. John Nalus scored the first goal for the Falcons in the second half, putting the ball in the goal during the 55th minute. Despite this momentum, DSC missed two penalty kicks. The Falcons kept the speed up, outrunning the Night Hawks and shifting the match in their favor. The score remained tied at 1-1 throughout the second half, with DSC racking up shots on the goal.
The Falcons were able to hustle to the goal, they just couldn’t score. Creggton Charleton and Dakotah Casale both had shots doinked off the side of the net, but the Falcons gained a 2-1 advantage in the 81st minute when Scott Benoit put it away for the Falcons. The Night Hawks almost had a player score in their own goal, but their goalkeeper prevented it.
The Falcons spent the next eight minutes playing keep-away, ultimately getting their sixth victory of the season. DSC handed the Thomas University JV squad their first loss this year, with the Night Hawks now sitting at 2-1-0. DSC had 13 shots on the goal and 1 save, while Thomas JV had 2 shots on goal to 6 saves.
The last home game of the season is Saturday Oct. 13 against Eastern Florida State. The match will kick off at 4 p.m. and is part of the DSC Homecoming festivities. Both men and women’s teams will be playing, accompanied by a free tailgating party, and a car and truck show as well. Please see this month’s Homecoming story for more on other events scheduled.