MELBOURNE, Fla., November 19, 2022 – For the second time in program history, the Monroe College Mustangs men's soccer team has captured the NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship! The No. 3-seeded Mustangs defeated No. 7 Arizona Western College, 2-0, Saturday evening at Orlando Health Stadium in the finals of the 2022 NJCAA Championship tournament, running the gauntlet of the national tournament to pick up the team's second national championship in the past four seasons.
The Mustangs won their first ever NJCAA Championship back in 2019 after a perfect season. After missing the national tournament the past two seasons, the Mustangs returned to prominence in 2022, reaching No. 1 in the final NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Rankings for the season before proving their worthiness of that distinction on the national stage.
Despite that No. 1 ranking, the Mustangs saw their unbeaten streak end in the East District Championship at the hands of Montgomery College, upset the Mustangs and then entered the NJCAA Championship as the No. 12 seed. The Mustangs got into the tournament with an at-large bid and as the No. 3 seed with a chip on their shoulders, helping propel them to a pair of comeback wins and eventually the national championship.
Tony Yeboah was named the 2022 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship Most Valuable Player after having an incredible four games in Melbourne. Yeboah scored four times throughout the week, including both goals in a comeback victory over No. 8 Cowley College in the semifinals, and the dagger in Saturday night's championship victory. Godwin Partey was named the 2022 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship Most Valuable Defensive Player after fortifying the backline throughout the tournament, while also providing a huge goal in a come-from-behind win in pool play against No. 6 Jefferson College. The two were also named to the 2022 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team. Head Coach
Marcus DiBernardo was selected as Coach of the Tournament.
A huge story to come out of the championship tournament for the Mustangs was the play of goalkeeper Johan Rodriguez. Having played just 23 minutes during the regular season, Rodriguez came on in relief of Monroe's injured starter in the pool-play opener against No. 8 Angelina College. In three starts and four games played, Rodriguez recorded a 0.85 goals-against average and a .769 save percentage. He earned his first shutout in Saturday's championship game, and also had a terrific performance in the semifinals against Cowley, stopping six shots to hold onto Monroe's one-goal lead in the game.
"Arizona Western is a really good team, I think we were able to bring a big energy and that was the difference, I thought our guys relentlessly dug down and we didn't have a letdown in intensity," said head coach
Marcus DiBernardo, who takes home his second Div. I Men's Soccer Championship, and his third NJCAA Title after winning with the Mustangs' women's team in 2018. "Our goalkeeper saved us. He came in after we lost our goalkeeper in the first game and he came in and stepped up. You can't win big games without him."
The Mustangs' first big opportunity came in the 32nd minute after a foul by the Matadors just outside the box on the left wing. Batista took the free kick opportunity and launch a cannon that looked like it would get just under the crossbar, but Matador goalkeeper Atsuki Sato got up and punched it over the net to keep the game scoreless.
In the 59th minute, Cade Erickson sent a beautiful cross from midfield all the way up to the right side of the box. Yeboah was chasing it down, but was taken out from underneath by the goalkeeper in the box, giving the Mustangs a penalty-kick opportunity. Batista lined up the shot for the Mustangs, firing low and to the left to beat the keeper, giving the Mustangs a crucial 1-0 lead in the defensive battle.
Manuel Cordeiro nearly doubled the lead for the Mustangs just 72 seconds later. He fired from just outside the top-left corner of the box, slamming it off the post to just miss putting the Mustangs up by two.
The Matadors had a big chance in the 65th minute after a foul on Monroe about two yards outside the top of the box. Takeroh Murakawa took the free kick for Arizona Western, sending it just high to keep the Mustangs up by a goal.
The Matadors had another great opportunity to tie the game in the 77th minute. Shoki Yoshida got in close to go one-on-one with Rodriguez, but Rodriguez stopped the shot at point-blank to hang on to Monroe's 1-0 advantage.
Just two and a half minutes after Rodriguez's big stop, the Mustangs rewarded him for his efforts. Nils Friebe had a big takeaway near midfield and sent a through ball all the way up to Yeboah who sprinted past the backline to go head-to-head with Sato. He made a move to his left to make the keeper go down, leaving a wide-open net that Yeboah hit with ease to double Monroe's lead at 2-0 in the 79th minute of the game.
On what proved to be Arizona Western's final chance to score in the game, Camilo Vergara headed a ball off a corner kick from Murakawa, but it sailed high to keep Monroe's shutout intact.
Though there was a slight delay for the final buzzer on the field, the clock soon struck 90:00 and the Mustangs erupted off the sidelines and all over the field, celebrating the biggest feat in NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer before eventually accepting the 2022 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer National Championship Trophy.
Rodriguez made two stops and was complemented by stellar backline play to earn his first shutout for the Mustangs. He finishes the NJCAA Championship tournament with a 3-0-1 record after stepping up big time for Monroe. Sato allowed two goals and made one stop for the Matadors to shoulder just his second defeat of the season.
An historic season comes to an outstanding end with Saturday's national championship. Monroe finishes the 2022 campaign with a 14-1-3 overall record. Arizona Western finishes as the tournament runner-up for the second straight year after the Matadors made another terrific run to the final. After failing to take home the hardware in their first three trips to the NJCAA Championship Finals, the Mustangs have now hoisted the trophy in their last two appearances in the national tournament.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 35 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band and the newly added esports and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 11 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at
www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (
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