ROSEDALE, Md., August 26, 2017 –
Gabriel Machado and
Lucas Nishioka made their mark on opening day, lifting the No. 2 Monroe College men's soccer team to a 4-2 victory Saturday afternoon in the Mustangs' opening matchup of the CCBC Essex Tournament. The Mustangs start the season 1-0, while Harcum opens the new year with an 0-1 mark.
Harcum's Shane Holmes gave the Bears an early 1-0 edge in the 22nd minute. 15 minutes later, Machado knotted things up at 1-1 off an assist from
Jorge Figueroa. Nishioka then got on the board in the 42nd minute to send the Mustangs into the locker room with a 2-1 halftime advantage.
Shortly after taking the field again,
Abdul Mohammed found Machado, setting him up for his second of the day to put Monroe ahead, 3-1. Nishioka later found the back of the net once again after a feed from
Carlos Rodriguez to take a three-goal lead. Harcum's Rico Jean-Pierre got one back for the Bears in the 66th minute, but goalkeeper
David de la Hera kept them off the board the rest of the way to secure the win.
De la Hera earned his first win as a Mustang on Saturday, making a pair of saves to start his career at 1-0. Harcum keeper Andrej Vidali took the loss after making three stops and yielding four goals.
Machado and Nishioka led the way with two goals apiece for the Mustangs. Figueroa, Mohammed and Rodriguez each dished out an assist in the win. The Mustangs fired off 21 shots, while allowing just five attempts by the Bears. They also earned all four of the game's corner kicks.
The Mustangs get right back to work on Sunday, Aug. 27, when they take on Louisburg College in their final matchup of the CCBC Essex Tournament. Sunday's matchup is set to kick off at 12 p.m.
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).
