December 12, 2011:
The boys ended another long week of soccer on a positive note, defeating cross town rival Heritage 3-0, and recording their second victory of the week. It was the first road victory of the season for the Pirates. The scoring started in the first half when Sophomore Ben Kendall played a through ball to fellow Sophomore Michael Brennan, who poked the ball passed the keeper for the goal.
Even while focusing on defense in the 2nd half, Palm Bay managed two more goals. Sophomore forward Anderson Velasquez scored, as did Junior midfielder Andrew McDonald. The defense held strong throughout the night, and Junior goalkeeper Austin Raulerson recorded 7 saves in route to his first shutout of the season.
(Sophomore Anderson Velasquez scored his 5th goal of the season Friday night.)
December 8, 2011:
The Pirates fell to powerhouse Sebastian River on Wednesday night by a score of 6-0. Palm Bay was able to control the flow of the game at times, but Sebastian proved to be very opportunistic and took advantage of mistakes.
Freshman Jorge Sierra had a nice game before leaving with an injury, and Junior goalkeeper Austin Raulerson put on a show with a handful of amazing saves.
Palm Bay travels to face cross town rival Heritage on Friday night, which will undoubtably be an exciting match. Last season, the Pirates and Panthers played to a scoreless 0-0 draw.
(Junior goalkeeper Austin Raulerson recorded 8 saves on Wednesday night.)
December 6, 2011:
Palm Bay managed their second victory of the season on Monday night at Pirate Stadium, edging visiting Astronaut 2-1. The scoring began in the first half when Sophomore Michael Brennan connected on his first of two goals on a cross from fellow Sophomore Cody Boccardi. The War Eagles answered in the first minute of the second half to tie the score 1-1.
The score remained one a piece until Sophomore Ben Kendall made a run down the right sideline, and found Brennan once again, who scored the game winning goal with less than two minutes remaining.
The Pirates end their 5 game home stand when District foe Sebastian comes to visit on Wednesday. Kickoff times are 5:30 (JV) and 7:00 (Varsity).
(Sophomore Cody Boccardi added his second assist of the season Monday night)
December 5, 2011:
Through the first month of the season, the young Pirates have struggled, dropping 7 of their first 9 games. Sophomore striker Michael Brennan has led the charge offensively, scoring 4 goals and also adding 2 assists (1.11 points per game average). Defensively, Senior captain Aaron Jordan has continued his great play game-in and game-out and has established himself as one of the elite defenders in Brevard County. He has also scored twice and recorded an assist.
Despite the slow start, Palm Bay has gotten heavy contributions from their group of "super sophomores", including quality minutes played from Ben Kendall, Cody Boccardi, Anderson Velasquez, Colin Sassman, and Taylor Carter.
Junior captain Andrew McDonald has played well as of late, scoring once and adding two assists.
(Sopomore Michael Brennan leads the team in scoring with 4 goals.)
