WICHITA, Kan., November 16, 2023 – The Monroe College Mustangs men's soccer team is now one win away from defending its title, as the No. 4-seeded Mustangs advanced to the 2023 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship final after coming out on top, 3-2, in a penalty-kick shootout over No. 3 Salt Lake Community College after Thursday's semifinal game had a 0-0 score after double overtime. The Mustangs will now defend their title against No. 7 Tyler Junior College on Saturday.
For the second time during this year's championship tournament, the Mustangs ended up in a stalemate after 110 minutes with their opponent. In Thursday's battle between two of the top four teams in the tournament, neither team was able to break through in regulation or overtime, leading to the penalty-kick shootout to determine which team advanced to the championship.
Salt Lake went first in the shootout. Lewis Duncan was the first shooter, but he shot his attempt wide left. Monroe's
Taiga Matoba was good on his shot to give the Mustangs a 1-0 edge.
Round 2 saw Francisco Tita fire his shot high for the Bruins, leaving the door wide open for the Mustangs to end the shootout quickly.
Gun Ha Lee was up next for Monroe, but his shot hit the top-right corner where the crossbar and post meet, leaving Monroe up, 1-0.
Robby Franke took the third attempt for the Bruins, scoring inside the left post to tie up the shootout.
Stev Kevin Thallinger then stepped up for Monroe, beating the diving Ben Williams just inside the left post for a 2-1 lead.
Carles Herrero tied up the shootout in the fourth round by scoring inside the right post for the Bruins.
Henrique Lobato then came up for Monroe, trying a hesitation shot, but firing high to keep the shootout knotted up at 2-2.
A crucial fifth and final round saw Brayden Gibson step into the box for Salt Lake. He tried to shoot left, but Ramos read it perfectly and made the diving stop, setting up Monroe to win with one more goal.
Sunao Yamamoto, who scored the golden goal for Monroe in the East District Championship final, fired slow and right down the middle, beating the diving keeper to send the Mustangs to the championship game.
Alvaro Ramos registered his second straight shutout for the Mustangs in Thursday's game, stopping four shots to help Monroe outlast the Bruins. In a game that saw both defenses clamp down on the opposing attack, Salt Lake's Williams needed to make just one save in the match. The Bruins finished with a narrow 9-8 edge in total shot attempts in the game.
The Mustangs have a date with Tyler this Saturday, Nov. 18, to determine the 2023 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Champion. The Mustangs have a chance to be the first back-to-back champion since Tyler accomplished that feat in 2016 and 2017. Saturday's NJCAA Championship final is set to kick off at the Stryker Sports Complex at 6:30 p.m. ET.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven 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).
