MELBOURNE, Fla., November 15, 2022 – After a quick 2-0 lead for No. 6 Jefferson College immediately put the Mustangs in comeback mode, they proved they were up for the challenge, as the No. 3-seeded Monroe College Mustangs men's soccer team scored three unanswered goals to complete the comeback and defeat the Vikings, 3-2, in the final pool-play match of Pool C at the 2022 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship at Orlando Health Stadium. The Mustangs advance to the semifinals as the tournament's highest remaining seed, while eliminating both Jefferson and Angelina College by winning Pool C.
The Vikings got the jump on the Mustangs early in Tuesday's contest. In the 11th minute, Joao Saraiva redirected a cross from Charlie Leech into the back of the net to give Jefferson a 1-0 edge. Just five minutes later, Saraiva struck again, doubling the Vikings' lead.
It was not until the 42nd minute that the Mustangs got on the board, with Nils Friebe finding Tony Yeboah in the box with a wide-open net in front of him, allowing him to easily score and cut the deficit in half at 2-1. The Vikings took the one-goal advantage into halftime.
The Mustangs continued their comeback early in the second half. In the 50th minute, Nils Friebe sent a corner kick to the far corner of the net, finding the head of Godwin Partey, who deflected it past the keeper for the equalizer.
In the 59th minute, Partey sent a long cross from the goal box out to midfield, where Diego Batista found it, and sent a beautiful through ball past three defenders up to Bruno Rosa. Rosa went one-on-one with the goalie, making a nifty move to chip it between his right arm and right leg and into the net to put the Mustangs ahead, 3-2. The Mustang defense was dominant the rest of the way, and did not allow a single shot on goal in the second half, hanging on for the 3-2 victory to advance in the tournament.
Making his first start of the season, Johan Rodriguez picked up his first win for the Mustangs on Tuesday, stopping one shot while allowing two goals. Jefferson keeper Harry O'Brien allowed three scores and made four saves to take the loss.
The Mustangs outshot the Vikings, 10-6, in the win, including a 7-3 edge in shots on goal. The Mustangs also had five corner kicks in the game, while the Vikings had four.
The Mustangs are now heading back to the NJCAA Championship semifinals for the first time since 2019, when the Mustangs won their first NJCAA Title. After both No. 1 Daytona State College and No. 2 Tyler Junior College were upset earlier in the day on Tuesday, the Mustangs head into the semifinals as the highest remaining seed in the tournament. As a result, the Mustangs will take on the lowest remaining seed, No. 8 Cowley College, which defeated Daytona State on Tuesday, 5-1. The Mustangs and Tigers will face off on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 5 p.m. at Orlando Health Stadium.
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 (
Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (
@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
