- April 26, 2024
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Matanzas players Luis Barreto (14) Diego Bernardi (11) and Aiden Cook (7) celebrate the first goal of the game, scored by Joseph "Fuji" Powell (12). Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas senior Aiden Sauco (18) fights for postion with Choctawhatchee’s Johnny Williams (9). Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas senior Joseph "Fuji" Powell takes a shot against Choctawhatchee in the Region 1-5A quarterfinal. Photo by Jake Montgomery
Aiden Sauco (18) defends as Choctawhatchee’s Johnny Williams (9) tries to turn for a shot. Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas goalkeeper Ben Kopach punches the ball over the net. Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas midfielder Nick Ferrer (5) looks to steal the ball. Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas’ Vince Ferrer (9) looks to stop Gage Rozofsky (2). Photo by Jake Montgomery
Choctawhatchee goalkeeper Eric Speed goes up for the save as Joseph “Fuji” Powell (12) and Aiden Cook (7) fight for the ball. Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas goalkeeper Ben Kopach scoops up a shot for a save while teammates Kai Bonner (3) and Aiden Sauco defend against Brooks Padgert (18) and Johnny Williams (9). Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas’ Nick Ferrer (5) heads the ball in for a score to put the Pirates up 2-0. Photo by Jake Montgomery
Nick Ferrer had never played in front of such a large crowd at Matanzas High.
He hopes it’s a sign of things to come.
The senior put an exclamation point on the Pirates’ 2-0 boys soccer win over Fort Walton Beach Choctawhatchee in a regional quarterfinal on Feb. 9 with a late goal in what would be his and four other seniors’ final home game.
“This is an atmosphere we’ve never seen here before. It’s good for me knowing I’m leaving this behind.”
NICK FERRER, senior midfielder
“This is an atmosphere we’ve never seen here before,” Ferrer said. “It’s good for me knowing I’m leaving this behind.”
With the win, the Pirates advanced to a regional semifinal at Class 5A top-ranked Panama City Beach Arnold where their season ended with a 5-0 loss on Feb. 12. The host Marlins (20-1-1) scored four goals in the final 13 minutes of the first half to take a commanding 4-0 halftime lead.
Matanzas finished the season with an 11-5-1 record. Beto Aguilar, the Pirates' second-year head coach, feels his team exceeded expectations.
He was happy his squad could play its final home game of the season in front of a large and supportive crowd.
“This was a good experience for them,” Aguilar said after the quarterfinal win. “Not many of them will go on to college and play in front of a crowd.”
This was the second year in a row that Matanzas won its district. But last year, the Pirates were forced to forfeit the regional quarterfinal because of a COVID-19 issue.
“This was almost a redemption game,” Aguilar said after the win. “(The players) wanted to make it up to last year’s group. I can’t be more proud of them and our staff.”
Senior Joseph “Fuji” Powell scored the first goal with 1:31 left in the first half and set up Ferrer’s goal with a corner kick with 1:19 left in the game.
The defense did the rest with junior goalkeeper Ben Kopach registering his seventh clean sheet of the season.
“Anything coming at him, I know Ben has. He gives us that anchor,” Aguilar said.
The Pirates controlled the game from the start, but they were unable to put the ball in the net until Powell’s goal, which came at the end of a barrage of shots that followed a corner kick.
Several Pirates took shots on goal as a crowd of Indians defenders kept rebounding the ball back.
“That was a panic. I think we had six shots on goal. I was saying, ‘One of these has to go in.’”
BETO AGUILAR, Matanzas boys soccer coach
“That was a panic,” Aguilar said. “I think we had six shots on goal. I was saying, ‘One of these has to go in.’”
Finally, Powell drilled in the only goal Matanzas would need.
“There were two defenders in front of me,” Powell said. “They tried to clean out the goal, but I think they were waiting for each other, so I went for it.”
Ferrer made it 2-0 with his third score in two games. His overtime goal with a man down gave the Pirates a 3-2 win against Menendez in the district championship on Feb. 2.
Against the Indians, he headed in Powell's corner kick.
“Their keeper is tall, and I saw him off his line, so I hit it low and to his right,” Ferrer said. “It was perfect timing, a perfect cross, perfect everything.”
“Big props to Nick for sealing the deal for us,” Aguilar said.
Aguilar said he would like to see a culture for boys soccer created in Palm Coast. Judging by the size of the crowd watching Matanzas win its first playoff game since 2018, that process has already begun.
After the game, Ferrer was asked about the legacy he and fellow seniors — Powell, Andrew Alvarez, Aiden Sauco and Michael Olsen — were leaving after their playoff run ended.
“As long as our school finally gets soccer recognition, that’s all that matters,” he said.
