- December 13, 2025
Seabreeze freshman Katie Clarke (12) and Matanzas sophomore Rhyan Bennett (9) run to the ball. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas sophomore Rhyan Bennett moves the ball upfield. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas goalkeeper Ella Forbes makes a save. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Seabreeze's Olivia Chase (7) takes a shot on goal. Matanzas goalkeeper Ella Forbes made the save. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Seabreeze striker Olivia Chase dribbles the ball downfield. Photo by Brent Woronoff
After winning its first game 8-0 against Titusville, the Seabreeze girls soccer team was looking for a tougher test to gauge the progress of its younger players. The Sandcrabs got it at Matanzas on Thursday, Nov. 6.
Seabreeze (2-0) was held to two goals this time in a 2-0 victory as sophomore goalkeeper Kaia McFarland recorded her second consecutive clean sheet.
“We have a very different team this year,” senior striker Olivia Chase said. “We knew Matanzas has a pretty decent team. They were connecting passes very well. So, it was nice to see we can work together.”
“We’re building chemistry,” said sophomore Gabby Dioquino, the Sandcrabs’ center midfielder.
Chase and Dioquino each scored a goal against the Pirates. Chase, who scored five goals in the season opener, put the Sandcrabs on the board in the first half against Matanzas with a close goal near the 6-yard box.
“It was a tough angle, but I got it in the right corner. It was a real nail-biter,” Chase said.
Dioquino made it 2-0 in the second half, stealing a pass and then firing a shot into the net from outside the 18-yard box.
“They were passing out from the back, and I saw the opportunity and took the shot,” she said.
The Sandcrabs have 11 sophomores on their roster, but most of them received playing time on varsity as freshmen last year, coach Eli Freidus said.
“It’s paid off to get them that experience,” he said.
The Pirates (0-2) have yet to score a goal, but they’ve played two tough teams that made the playoffs last year in Beachside and Seabreeze.
“They are two great teams,” Matanzas coach Scott Crooke said. “Seabreeze is always a great team, and this is the closest we’ve played them in my eight years here.”
Crooke said the Pirates were able to maintain possession for most of the first half.
“Toward the end of the half we lost that possession,” he said.
“After a while,” Dioquino said, “we were able to get to the ball first.”
Matanzas is coming off its second straight winning season, which started with a large freshmen class in 2023. Most of the players, who are now juniors, are club soccer players, Crooke said.
“I’m very proud of this team. They’ve worked hard over the years. I love their spirit. They bond well. There’s a good team atmosphere,” he said.
The Pirates will travel to Middleburg on Nov. 17 before returning home for games against Pine Ridge on Nov. 20 and Jacksonville Providence on Nov. 21.
Seabreeze was scheduled to play at DeLand on Nov. 10 before opening its home schedule at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex with three tough games in a row against Oviedo (Nov. 13), Bolles (Nov. 18) and Flagler Palm Coast (Nov. 21).
