- April 18, 2024
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Jon Young (16) dives for the shot scoring the second goal for Matanzas. Photo By Jake Montgomery
Chris Conti (6) defends against FPC in the first half. Photo By Jake Montgomery
Jesse Sustaita (13) turns around Matananzas' Chris Conti (6) tries to defend. Photo By Jake Montgomery
FPC's Gavin Winkler (2) takes the ball down field as Matanzas' Luke Doner (3) defends. Photo By Jake Montgomery
FPC's James Payne (25) takes the ball out of the defensive zone against Matanzas. Photo By Jake Montgomery
FPC teammates Dylan Toriello (19) and Logan Johnson (6). Photo By Jake Montgomery
FPC's Logan Johnson (6) looks for his opportunity to take his shot on goal. Photo By Jake Montgomery
Mantanzas keeper Josh Fernandez (66) stops an attempt from FPC. Photo By Jake Montgomery
FPC's Jordan Gales (8) pushes up the field as Matanzas' Bryson Williams (8) defends. Photo By Jake Montgomery
Matanzas' Jimmy Kelly (24) takes the ball behind the net looking for the assist as FPC's Chase Leister (11) defends. Photo By Jake Montgomery
First-year Matanzas coach Adam Frys would like to see his boys’ lacrosse program climb to the level where Flagler Palm Coast is now.
While the Bulldogs expect to be in the hunt for a playoff spot, most of the Pirates’ players are learning the game.
Matanzas recently dominated the Flagler County rivalry, winning five straight against FPC from 2015 to 2019. Now, the Bulldogs have gained the upper hand, winning 19-2 on April 4 at Matanzas, a year after ending the Pirates’ streak with an 11-4 victory.
The Bulldogs are 10-3. The Pirates are 3-8.
“The rivalry is different this year,” said FPC coach Tom Morgello. “There’s not a lot of animosity between the schools. They lost a lot of players. Their program is rebuilding.”
Matanzas has no seniors on the team. Its seven juniors have taken on a leadership role, which includes helping many of their teammates learn the fundamentals.
“We have 12 freshmen who never played lacrosse before 6 to 8 weeks ago. They’ve come a long way.”
ADAM FRYS, Matanzas coach
“We have 12 freshmen who never played lacrosse before 6 to 8 weeks ago,” Frys said. “They’ve come a long way.”
When Frys took over the program, he wasn’t sure he’d have enough players to field a team. Assistant Tim Sandersfield combed the school for recruits.
“I’m pretty sure he asked every boy in school if they want to play lacrosse, probably twice,” Frys said.
The Bulldogs played their starters only in the first and third quarters against the Pirates. Their younger players took the field in the second and fourth quarters.
FPC honored its seniors the following night, April 5, in 19-4 home win against Jacksonville Mandarin. The Bulldogs’ final regular-season game is at Oviedo Hagerty on April 8. They landed the No. 2 seed in the district tournament and have a first-round bye. They will meet the winner of the Bartram Trail-Fleming Island game on April 12.
FPC is 2-3 in district contests with one-goal losses to Fleming Island and Bartram Trail. Creekside, the third-ranked team in Class 2A and the No. 1 seed in the district, is the only team to beat the Bulldogs by multiple goals, winning 13-5 on March 22.
“We’ve got some work to do against the zone defense. Bartram Trail and Creekside both played zone against us,” Morgello said.
“We’ve got some work to do against the zone defense. Bartram Trail and Creekside both played zone against us.”
TOM MORGELLO, FPC coach
In their 10 victories, FPC has outscored its opponents 169-37.
Matanzas defeated St. Joseph and Father Lopez early in the season and added an 11-2 victory against Jacksonville Riverside on Aug. 5. The Pirates close their regular season with a home game against Atlantic Coast on April 7.
Frys, who teaches math at Matanzas, is a former assistant coach at Johnson City High School in Central New York and played college lacrosse at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. He and his wife, who is also a teacher, moved to Flagler County two years ago.
“We drove around the country looking for the perfect place to live and we found Flagler Beach,” he said.
With a roster filled with freshmen, he hopes the Pirates have a foundation they can build on.
“We’re playing good in these games considering half our starters have never played before,” Frys said. “The boys are playing hard every game. They never quit. They keep playing to the final whistle.”
