- November 4, 2024
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The Flagler Palm Coast Bulldogs (20-5-1) lost the 5A Region 1 Championship to the West Orange Warriors 3-1, thereby ending their season Friday, Feb. 6, in Winter Garden.
The Bulldogs went down early, when a Warrior appeared to pass into the goalkeeper’s box, but it ended up going into the net for a score. FPC evened the score on a Nate Monsanto header that was assisted by Stanley Joseph, who threw the ball deep into the West Orange goalkeeper’s box.
In the second half, West Orange sent a flurry of shots toward FPC’s junior goalkeeper, Steven Ferguson, who wasn’t able to block them all, and suddenly the Bulldogs were trailing again. In the final moments of the game, the Warriors were able to score a final goal that put the game out of reach for the Bulldogs.
“We met our match with these guys,” coach Reg Monsanto said. “We pushed with the kitchen sink in the last few minutes, and they caught us. They’re a good team with good athletes. Their experience showed, having been to the State final two years ago.”
Despite allowing three goals, Ferguson saved 15 shots on the night for the Bulldogs. He, among many other talents, are the reason Monsanto believes his team is only going to get better.
“Even though we had 10 seniors on our roster, we still had a young team,” he added. “We have eight starters returning, so I like our chances. We now know what it takes to get this far and will work hard every year to get here again, and maybe beyond.”
According to Monsanto, the Bulldogs reached many of the goals they had set before the season. They won their conference tournament, won the district championship, won at least one regional match and beat their nemesis, Mandarin, to reach the regional final.
“This season was the most fun I have ever had as a coach for sure,” Monsanto said. “I had some great guys, a great staff and great support from the school. We were able to bounce back after some early season losses and a heart-breaking loss to Matanzas.
It created character and fed our passion to get to the post season. Now that we have a taste, we will want this every year, at least I will. My job is to make sure the guys will as well.”
