PRESCOTT, Ariz., November 14, 2017 – The No. 7-seeded Monroe College men's soccer team's quest to return to the National Championship game got started on the right foot on Tuesday, as the Mustangs defeated No. 11-seed Kansas City Kansas Community College in their NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament pool-play opener by a score of 5-1. The Mustangs eliminate the Blue Devils with the win, and are now one win away from advancing to the semifinals.
 
Monroe is set to take on second-seeded Schoolcraft College to determine the winner of Pool B. Both teams have three points after both teams defeated Kansas City Kansas, but the Mustangs hold the edge in goal difference and goals scored after Schoolcraft picked up a 2-0 decision on Monday.
 
The Mustangs opened the scoring early on when Lucas Nishioka found Carlos Rodriguez directly in front of the keeper, who he one-timed the ball past to give Monroe a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute. Just three minutes later, Jorge Figueroa fired low from the top of the box and squeaked it past the keeper to the left side of the net to push Monroe's lead to 2-0, which it held through the half.
 
In the 55th minute, the Mustangs took a 3-0 lead on the Blue Devils when Gabriel Machado found Javier Rodriguez near the top of the box, where he fired and beat the keeper for another Monroe goal. The Blue Devils managed to get on the board later in the second half when Bruno Rovares scored in the 70th minute off an assist from Jackson Jones to make it a 3-1 game. With seven minutes to play, Takahiro Awaji stole the ball away in the offensive zone and found Machado, who fired home to make it a 4-1 lead for the Mustangs. A couple minutes later, Svyat Kozak punted one past midfield, where it bounced over the heads of a number of Blue Devil players and found Cristian Valencia, who was able to dribble and blast one toward the goal and into the back of the net to make it a four-goal lead in the 86th minute.
 
Kozak picked up the win with four saves to improve to 9-0-1 on the season. He also picked up his first career assist and point in Tuesday's victory. Kansas City Kansas keeper Yousssef Gadelkerim allowed five goals and matched Kozak's four saves to take the loss.
 
Five different Mustangs scored in Tuesday's win, while five different players handed out assists. Machado led the way with three points with a goal and an assist in the win. The Mustangs fired off 26 shots while holding the Blue Devils to 16, and held a 9-5 shots-on-goal advantage. Monroe also earned nine corner kicks while holding their opponents to just five.
 
The Mustangs will face off with Schoolcraft on Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. in the same spot as Tuesday's contest. The winner will earn a spot in the 2017 NJCAA Div. I National Championship semifinals as the winner of Pool B.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's rugby, and the newly added club women's rugby team, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, will have six teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level beginning in the fall of 2017.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe College Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).