Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer

Daytona State tops Montgomery in Pool A opener

Daytona State tops Montgomery in Pool A opener

The No. 1 seed Daytona State College men's soccer team opened the NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament with a win Sunday morning.

After a scoreless first half, the two teams combined for five goals in the second half as the Falcons picked up the 3-2 win in a Pool A game at Orlando Health Stadium.

Daytona State College got on the board first as Carlos Zambrano scores. But Montgomery would tie the game 1-1 on a penalty kick by Sota Matsuo.

It did not stay tied very long as Daytona State's Kevin Kelly took a pass from Christian Cordeiro and buried it to give the Falcons the lead once again. A minute later the Falcons found the back of the net again as Cordeiro took a pass from Zambrano and finished to make it 3-1.

Matsuo took a free kick outside the box with 19:28 remaining and put it into the corner of the net to cut the lead to 3-2.

"We created a lot of chances but just couldn't put them away and then two dead balls come back to haunt us, a PK and a nice free kick. That team worked their tail off and credit them, they fought us all the way," Daytona State College men's soccer coach Bart Sasnett said. "They were hot today, the three of them have been complimentary of each other all year and they are one of our driving forces."

Each side had a couple of good looks in the first half but both goalkeepers were up to the task keeping things scoreless. Daytona State's William Diaz made a couple of nice diving stops to keep the game scoreless.

Montgomery College will be in action Monday at 10 a.m. against No. 8 Cowley College at Orlando Health Stadium. Daytona State College will play Cowley on Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Photos