DAYTONA, Fla., November 16, 2018 – The Monroe College Mustangs men's soccer team saw an incredible run at the NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship Tournament come to an end on Friday, as the No. 7-seeded Mustangs fell to No. 1 Pima Community College by a score of 1-0 in a highly competitive matchup at the Daytona State Soccer Field. The defeat eliminated the Mustangs from this year's national tournament.
 
The Mustangs surpassed last year's run, which ended in the pool-play portion of the national tournament. The Mustangs went 2-0 to advance through Pool B, defeating No. 11 CCBC Essex before upsetting No. 2-seed, and two-time defending national champion Tyler Junior College to move on to the semifinals. Pima will now challenge the winner of No. 3 Barton Community College and No. 5 Eastern Florida State College.
 
A great first half saw a lot of back-and-forth, but neither team was able to break through throughout the first 45 minutes. The game went into halftime knotted up at 0-0.
 
A tough foul call was make in the 71st minute in Monroe's goal box, giving the Aztecs a penalty-kick opportunity with the game still scoreless. Hugo Kametani took the kick, kept it on the ground, and with a little misdirection, he snuck it just past Mustang goalkeeper Victor Camps, giving the tournament's top seed a 1-0 lead with just over 19 minutes to play.
 
In the final seconds, a long cross somehow found Rintaro Takagi in the box with one-on-one coverage. A difficult shot attempt saw him go almost completely horizontal as he tried to fire toward the net, but his shot went wide to the right, allowing time to expire.
 
Victor Camps made two saves in goal for the Mustangs, but allowed the only goal scored on him this week on Kametani's penalty kick to shoulder only his second loss of the season. Pima goalkeeper Nils Roth was great in net, making six saves to keep the Mustangs off the board and earn the victory.
 
The Mustangs played incredibly well in the game, but was unfortunately unable to get one past Roth despite a strong offensive effort. They outshot the Aztecs, 11-5, with a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal. They also earned four corner kicks, while Pima had just two.
 
Monroe's season comes to an end with Friday's loss, but not after another amazing season for the Mustangs. Monroe won its third consecutive Region XV title this year, and its second Northeast District Championship in three years. The national tournament appearance was also the third straight for the Mustangs, who have now advanced to at least the semifinal round twice in the last three seasons.
 
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).