- April 26, 2024
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PALM COAST — With dominating wins on Thursday night in the first round of the girls soccer state playoffs, both Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast advanced to next Tuesday’s regional semifinals.
Matanzas (22-2-2) mercy-ruled Eustis, 8-0, behind another Miracle Porter hat trick. Porter has scored 63 goals this season. Karen Rodriguez added two goals and two assists. Keeper Bella Benvenuto tallied her 18th shutout in 26 games, lowering her goals-against average to 0.40.
Thursday's win over Eustis was the first girls soccer state playoff win in Matanzas’ history.
The Lady Pirates will travel to Leesburg (21-1-1) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, in the Class 3A regional semifinals. Leesburg beat Seabreeze, 1-0, in the regional quarterfinals.
“All I know about Leesburg is that they have an outstanding record, having lost only one game all year,” Matanzas coach Tony Benvenuto said. “They are playing at home, and that’s usually an advantage when it comes to two pretty even teams. We are expecting a very good game. We just need to stay focused.”
Flagler Palm Coast (17-6-4) topped Mandarin, 4-1, behind Tanagna Payne’s hat trick. Fellow freshman Madi Hald scored FPC's fourth goal.
The Lady Bulldogs will travel to Fletcher (15-3-3) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, in the Class 5A regional semifinals. Fletcher beat University, 3-1, in the regional quarterfinals.
FPC and Fletcher meet in the state playoffs for the sixth straight year. Fletcher leads the series, 3-2.
"Fletcher will be very tough," FPC coach Pete Hald said. "All games with them have been very close. Their place is a tough place to play. Hopefully we will play better than what we did against Mandarin."
