- April 19, 2024
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FPC's Jose Hernandez attempts a penalty kick against the Falcons. Photo by Ray Boone
An FPC player drills a ball toward the goal. Photo by Ray Boone
FPC's Baron Pedro dribbles the ball down the field against Pedro Menendez. Photo by Ray Boone
FPC's Baron Pedro dribbles the ball down the field against Pedro Menendez. Photo by Ray Boone
The Bulldogs' Bryan Burris lobs a ball toward a teammate. Photo by Ray Boone
FPC's Zachary Hassell celebrates after scoring a goal against the Falcons. Photo by Ray Boone
Jose Hernandez flies past a defender toward the goal. Photo by Ray Boone
FPC's Luis Corazon cuts up field against the Falcons. Photo by Ray Boone
Mason Anderson heads a ball toward a teammate. Photo by Ray Boone
Baron Pedro passes the ball to a teammate against Pedro Menendez. Photo by Ray Boone
FPC's Zachary Hassell heads a ball toward a teammate. Photo by Ray Boone
Flagler Palm Coast’s boys soccer team took 15 shots — nine of them on-goal — in the first half of their season opener against Pedro Menendez on the night of Tuesday, Nov. 13, at FPC High School.
No balls made it past the Falcons’ goal keeper.
The Bulldogs didn’t have as many chances in the second half, but when an opportunity presented itself, they took advantage.
More than halfway through the second period, forward Zachary Hassell was open in the box and punched one through for a relatively easy first goal. Nearly two minutes later, Hassell was more than 30 yards away from the goal when he saw the Falcons’ keeper come off the goal line.
As soon as the ball left his foot, he knew it was going in.
The ball took off like a missile, rocketing past the leaping keeper and smashing into the upper section of the net.
Although Hassell is a sophomore at FPC, it was his first game playing for the Bulldogs. He was ineligible to play in high school as a freshman because he was playing for a development academy in Jacksonville at the time.
“He’s going to make me look like a genius,” Bulldogs coach Troy Stone said.
The Bulldogs topped the Falcons, who scored a goal in the final two minutes, 2-1 to kick off Stone’s inaugural season as the head coach of the program. He was previously an assistant coach for the boys team last year, until then-head coach Reg Monsanto was fired mid-season, prompting Stone to fill in as an interim coach.
This season, however, the team is all his.
“I’m just excited for the opportunity. I want to make sure that I put these boys in a position to win each week,” he said. “At this level, they already understand the game. They’re smart. We just want to give them an opportunity to succeed.”
The Bulldogs still have to be weary of how the play, though. They’re still on probation until January 2019, stemming from last year’s debacle, in which the varsity and junior varsity teams saw three injections in one night. Another mishap could mean forfeited games or further punishment.
“This is a really good group,” Stone said. “We’ve got a lot of senior leadership. We’re just hoping that the seniors lead by example.”
