MELBOURNE, Fla., November 17, 2022 – For the first time since their 2019 National Championship season, the No. 3-seeded Mustangs are heading back to the NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship Final, as the Monroe College Mustangs men's soccer team defeated No. 8 Cowley College, 2-1, in Thursday's semifinal matchup at Orlando Health Stadium. Cowley, who eliminated top-seeded Daytona State College on Tuesday, is now eliminated from the tournament.
In the Mustangs' first time back to the national tournament since winning the NJCAA Championship in 2019, Monroe now has a chance to win its second title in program history. This will be Monroe's fifth appearance in the NJCAA Championship final since 2011. The Mustangs will take on the winner of Thursday's second semifinal matchup between No. 4 Salt Lake Community College and No. 7 Arizona Western College.
The Mustangs caught a bad break just 80 seconds into Thursday's matchup. Caique Trivelato sent a cross from the far-left wing toward the goal. Mustang goalkeeper Johan Rodriguez had to jump for it, but the ball was just a bit too high for him to grab and landed just behind him, where Filipe Freitas was waiting for it, tapping it over the line to put the Tigers up, 1-0, in just the second minute of the game.
The Mustangs breathed a sigh of relief in the 29th minute when they scored the equalizer on a beautiful play. Shotaro Kino played it up the right side and crossed it up toward the box, finding Tony Yeboah past the defender, where he was able to launch a rocket past the keeper and into the back of the net to tie the game in the 29th minute.
Just four minutes later, Yeboah propelled the Mustangs into the lead. Bruno Rosa played it around a defender entering the offensive third and found Yeboah streaking up the middle of the pitch, where he found himself one-on-one with the goalie, sending it just above his hands and into the net to put the Mustangs on top, 2-1, in the 33rd minute.
In the second half, the Mustangs allowed six shots, three of which went on goal, but Rodriguez managed to keep the Tigers out of the net. Monroe hunkered down on defense late and managed to hang on to their one-goal advantage through the final 45 minutes.
Making his second straight start, Johan Rodriguez was brilliant after the early goal, stopping six shots to pick up his second win. Rafael Furlani allowed two goals without a save for the Tigers to take the loss.
The Mustangs are now watching the matchup between Salt Lake and Arizona Western, ready to take on the winner of the last semifinal matchup of the tournament. Saturday's championship game at Orlando Health Stadium will take place at 7 p.m.
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).
