DAYTONA, Fla., November 12, 2018 – The Monroe College Mustangs men's soccer team is in Daytona, Fla. getting set for the 2018 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championships, the Mustangs' third straight appearance in the national tournament. Monroe comes in as the No. 7 overall seed, playing in Pool B with No. 2 Tyler and No. 11 CCBC Essex.
2018 NJCAA DIV. I MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
Tournament Central
Bracket
Where:
Daytona State College
Daytona, Fla.
When:
Monday, Nov. 12 – Saturday, Nov. 17
Pools:
MUSTANG LEADERS
The Mustangs had numerous contributors on the offensive end throughout the season.
Caio Guazzelli enters the national tournament as the team's leader with nine goals and 20 total points.
Luca Erhardt is next with eight goals and 18 points.
Othman Gherab and
Ronaldo Da Silva are tied with six goals apiece, but Gherab is tied with
Lucas Nishioka for the team lead with four assists.
The Mustangs are ninth in the NJCAA with 3.92 goals per game. An aggressive offensive team, the Mustangs rank second in the nation with 25.3 shots per game.
The Mustangs are led in net by
Victor Camps, who is 7-1-2 on the season. Camps has a .773 save percentage and a 1.02 goals-against average in 10 starts and 11 games played. He also has a shutout, as well as three combined shutouts.
HOW WE GOT HERE
The Mustangs enjoyed a strong start to the 2018 campaign, going 6-0 with a pair of wins over nationally ranked opponents. The Mustangs opened the season against then No. 15-ranked CCBC-Essex, defeating the Knights by a score of 6-1 on their home turf. The Mustangs later earned a 7-1 victory over then No. 4 Mercer County Community College.
The Mustangs' 6-0 start pushed them into the No. 1 overall ranking in the NJCAA. Unfortunately, a 1-1 draw against Bunker Hill Community College dropped the Mustangs down in the rankings and ended their perfect start. They bounced back with a 4-1 win over Harcum, but suffered an upset defeat at ASA College. A double-overtime victory over Monroe Community College gave the Mustangs some momentum heading into the Region XV Championship game at ASA.
The Avengers gave the Mustangs another scare after taking a 2-1 lead in the region championship, but the Mustangs quickly tied things up at 2-2. After two overtimes, the game ended up in draw, needed penalty kicks to determine a region champion. The Mustangs came away with a 5-4 win in penalty kicks, earning them the Region XV crown and a spot in the Northeast District Championship tournament.
The Mustangs opened against No. 8 Essex County College, and scored in the third minute for the early advantage. That lead proved to be enough, but the Mustangs added one more in the final seconds to cap off a 2-0 win to advance to the championship game. Host Massasoit Community College came to play in the District final, which was knotted up at 2-2 until the 85th minute, when
Yoojun Kang scored for Monroe to give them a 3-2 victory and the Northeast District's automatic bid into the NJCAA Championships.
POOL B COMPETITION
#2 Tyler Junior College – 18-2-0 – No. 2 in Final NJCAA Rankings
Two-time defending champion Tyler comes in to this year's tournament as the No. 2 overall seed after going 18-2 through District Championships. The Apaches defeated Paris to earn their spot in the South District Championship. They then took down Jones College, 3-0, in the South District Championship to earn their 10th straight berth into the NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer National Championships.
The Apaches are led offensively by Cheick Fofana, who has tallied 28 points on 13 goals and a pair of assists. Dylan Bufton has 27 points on 11 goals and five assists. Dion Macfoy leads the team with six assists on the season.
In goal, Neil Strauber has made 11 starts for the Apaches, going 9-1-0 with a .806 save percentage and a 0.55 goals-against average. His goals-against average ranks fifth best in the NJCAA.
#11 CCBC Essex – 13-5-2 – No. 17 in Final NJCAA Rankings
The Knights earned their way into the NJCAA Championship tournament after becoming Region XX Champions for the seventh straight year, which also made them the North Central District champions. The punched their ticket with a 3-2 victory over Montgomery College.
The Knights are led by Isaiah Price, who has totaled 52 points on 24 goals and four assists this season. Nehemiah Crawford has 44 points on 19 goals and six assists. Jonatan Gonzalez has dished out a team-best seven assists.
Goalkeeper Kyle Cooper has started every game for the Knights, and has registered a 2.28 goals-against average and .654 save percentage.
UPDATE:
In Monday's Pool B opener, No. 2 Tyler defeated CCBC-Essex, 5-1.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 27 teams competing across nine sports. There are 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus as of the fall of 2017, 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 College Athletics), Twitter (
@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
