- January 14, 2026
The Pirates celebrate after Matthew Ciminera scored their second goal with nine minutes left in the game. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' celebration after their second goal spills onto the track. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Mateo Almeida and Matanzas' Stanislav Valentychik (14). Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' Jonathan Pereira (18) and FPC's Dylan Hardesty (17). Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' Jonathan Pereira. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' RJ Cerasi brings the ball upfield. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Dylan Hardesty (17). Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' Nocolas Correa. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Prince Darby. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Garrett Tucker (2) with the ball. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' Sergio Posada (10) and FPC's Mateo Almeida. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas players mob RJ Cerasi (9) after his goal put the Pirates up 3-0. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' RJ Cerasi with the ball. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC defender Garrett Tucker. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' RJ Cerasi and FPC's Garrett Tucker. Photo by Brent Woronoff
After Matanzas junior Matthew Ciminera chipped a shot over the Flagler Palm Coast goalkeeper's head to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead, the celebration started. There was over nine minutes left in the game, but to the Pirates, the lead felt insurmountable as they swarmed the field with the scrum of players spilling onto the track.
RJ Cerasi added a rebound goal off FPC goalkeeper Teagan Paulo's hands in the 78th minute for the dagger, and the Pirates celebrated again. When the buzzer sounded, they had defeated their rivals 3-0 to win their fifth game in a row and improve to 12-4-2 with one game left in the regular season. FPC fell to 12-7.
"Everybody was ecstatic," Matanzas senior Jonathan Acosta said about Ciminera's goal. "We just put two past our rivals."
Paulo came out on Ciminera which gave the Matanzas player an open net to shoot at.
"Teagan tried to run up on me," Ciminera said. "I think we got in their heads after that goal."
Acosta gave Matanzas a 1-0 lead in the first half on a shot just outside the 18-yard box.
"All I remember is the ball fell to my weak foot, my left, and honestly, I couldn't hit it any better than I did," he said.
The Pirates kept the pressure on the Bulldogs' defense but couldn't convert again until the final 10 minutes.
Matanzas avenged a 2-0 loss to FPC last year and improved to 12-5-4 overall against its county rival.
"We kept their shots to a minimum," Matanzas coach Beto Aguilar said. "A lot of emotions come into a game like this, but we need to try to stay composed, which is what we would need to do in a championship game."
The Pirates played a man down in the final two minutes after Sergio Posada received a red card.
The Bulldogs host DeLand on Thursday, Jan. 16, in their final regular-season game and then will await the seedings for the District 1-7A tournament. Matanzas travels to St. Johns Beachside on Jan. 16, and then will host the District 3-6A tournament, which begins on Jan. 21.
