- April 24, 2024
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Kaitlyn Steiner (23) battles for control with Seminole's Briania Sanchez. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC players share hugs after a 2-0 loss to Sanford Seminole ended their season. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Jessie Seay (4) dribbles ahead of Seminole's Nola Johnson (17). Photo by Brent Woronoff
Kaitlyn Steiner (23) kicks downfield. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Isabella Kummernes. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Kaitlyn Steiner (23) looks to win possession against Seminole's Briania Sanchez. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler Palm Coast girls soccer coach Pete Hald was hoping Sanford Seminole's early goal would be the extent of the damage, and the Bulldogs could go into halftime down 1-0.
"I thought we were going to get away with giving up just the one goal and we could regroup and collect ourselves," Hald said.
But the Seminoles scored again two minutes before halftime and then held off FPC in the second half to win 2-0 in a District 2-7A semifinal at Daytona State College on Friday, Jan. 27.
Seminole was scheduled to meet No. 1 seed Lake Mary for district championship on Feb. 1. The Bulldogs' season ended with a 14-5-3 record.
"We had six seniors. It hurts," Hald said. "We won some games. I was leery about our ability to finish. Between penalty box and penalty box, we did pretty good, but we weren't finishing."
In their final home game, a district quarterfinal against University on Wednesday, Jan. 25, the Bulldogs took 20 shots against but converted just once in the 1-0 victory. Senior defender Hailey Tucker scored the lone goal for FPC, sending the Bulldogs to the semifinals.
At DSC, Seminole's Morgan Wright scored off her own rebound shot before halftime to put her team up 2-0.
"She came flying through the middle and got a crack. There was a deflection, and we didn't jump on it. She did," Hald said.
FPC had some chances in the second half but couldn't convert.
"We had a chance right at the beginning of the game, but (senior Jessie Seay) missed the goal," Hald said. "After that we didn't get anything going offensively. In the second half, we played better. We stopped them from scoring."
"The girls were really tired. We're not used to playing on a huge field like this."
— PETE HALD, FPC coach
Hald said the Bulldogs had difficulty early acclimating to the larger college field.
"The girls were really tired. We're not used to playing on a huge field like this, and (the Seminoles) probably are, because they play a lot of teams that have turf, and the turf fields are big," Hald said.
"They're very athletic and confident," Hald said of the Seminoles. "We got beat by a better team. (Freshman goalkeeper Natalie Neal) played really well. A.J. Johnson, the center back, played really well. Eva Sites, she's a freshman. She plays center back as the marker behind A.J. She had (Seminole leading scorer Kyana Cezalien) and did a good job."
