- January 18, 2026
FPC's Laua Hererra (13) tries to gain possession from Matanzas' Chloe Harper (10). Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas goalkeeper Ella Forbes (left) runs up to celebrate Emma Skinner's game-tying goal with her teammates. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC goalkeeper Natalie leaps up to make a save. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Taci Cook controls the ball. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' Chloe Harp and FPC's Laura Hererra battle for the ball. Photo by Brent Woronoff
In the record books, the girls soccer game Jan. 15 between county rivals Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas will go down as a tie. But for the Pirates, the game felt like a win.
Matanzas' all-time record against FPC is 2-22-3. The 1-1 tie at the Pirates' stadium ended their 14-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
It’s been years of working hard to build this program and have great girls come here and build a team that can play very well and compete against teams as good as FPC. They're a great team. So, a tie to us, tonight, is a win.
— SCOTT CROOKE, Matanzas girls soccer coach
“It’s been years of working hard to build this program and have great girls come here and build a team that can play very well and compete against teams as good as FPC,” Matanzas coach Scott Crooke said. “They're a great team. So, a tie to us, tonight, is a win.”
The last time these teams tied was Dec. 22, 2016, when the score was 4-4. Matanzas’ last win against FPC was by a 4-2 score 10 years ago, Jan. 6, 2016. The Bulldogs had been so dominant that during their 14-game win streak, the Pirates scored a total of just four goals.
“It feels good to be able to stand against them and play a good competitive game, especially since it's been such a long time since that’s happened,” Crooke said. “We told them that [the Bulldogs] never back down. They will leave every bit of themselves on the field, so the girls had to know we needed to match that.”
FPC took a 1-0 lead in the first half as Hailey Sammons maneuvered through several Matanzas players to slip a shot past Matanzas goalkeeper Ella Forbes into the right corner of the net. It was Sammons’ ninth goal of the season.
The Pirates tied it in the sixth minute of the second half as Emma Skinner tapped one in off Carsyn O’Linn’s corner kick. After the goal, the Pirates rushed the field to celebrate.
“To tie it, it just felt really good,” O’Linn said. “You could just see out there how hard everyone was working for each other, which was awesome. Everyone's really proud of how we played, and I'm really proud of all of us.”
Skinner scored her team-high ninth goal of the season. She has one more goal than O'Linn.
“It was just an amazing feeling to square back up and equalize the game and know that we could keep our heads in this and keep working to hopefully achieve another scoring opportunity,” Crooke said.
Both teams had their chances. Forbes had seven saves in the game. Sammons drilled a shot that hit the crossbar that would have put FPC up 2-0 before the half. FPC keeper Natalie Neal made several outstanding saves. Matanzas had two corner-kick opportunities in the final three minutes.
And then, in the final minute, FPC’s Isabella Kummernes buried a shot in the back of the net. But that potential game-winner was ruled offside.
“To be honest, I saw that it was offside,” O’Linn said. “So, I was just trying to tell the team, ‘it's OK, it’s OK,’ because our keeper immediately went down. She started crying, so I was saying, ‘it's fine, it’s fine.’ So, then, when they called offsides, I think everyone was just overjoyed and happy.”
Matanzas finished the regular season with a 6-6-3 record. FPC (13-1-5) had a tough week. After winning the Five Star Conference Tournament on Jan. 9, the Bulldogs lost for the first time this season, 2-1, to Jacksonville Providence on Jan. 13, and then ended the regular season with the rare tie with the Pirates.
“It’s just been a disappointing week, after last week,” FPC coach Pete Hald said. “We just underperformed both nights. Matanzas was just a little bit more up for the game than us and took advantage of some momentum. We probably should have had a couple [goals] early in the first half, and that [would have put] a lot of pressure on them. Instead, the pressure just seemed to be on us more than them.”
FPC, the second seed in the District 1-7A tournament, will host No. 3 seed Atlantic Coast (7-7-2) in the semfinals at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22. The final is scheduled for Jan. 27 at the higher seed.
Matanzas, the fourth seed in District 3-6A, will meet No. 5 seed Gainesville Buchholz (6-7-4) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, at Tocoi Creek. The winner will meet No. 1 seed Bartram Trail in the semifinals on Jan. 22.
In District 6-5A, No. 2 seed Seabreeze (8-6-1) will host No. 3 Pine Ridge (7-11-2) in a semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23.
