BALTIMORE, Md., August 25, 2018 – The No. 3-ranked Monroe College men's soccer team kicked off the 2018 campaign in typical Mustang fashion, rolling to a 6-1 victory over No. 15 CCBC-Essex on Saturday in its first matchup at the CCBC Essex Knights Soccer Kickoff Classic. Six different Mustangs scored in the win, including five newcomers.
 
After a bit of a slow start to the contest, the Mustangs broke through in the 19th minute when Luca Erhardt netted his first goal as a Mustang off a feed from Lucas Nishioka to give Monroe a 1-0 advantage. 11 minutes later, Caio Guazzelli picked up his first goal after being set up by Jorge Figueroa to double the lead.
 
The newcomers kept rolling in the first half, as Sallu Kamara hit the back of the net in the 37th minute to push Monroe's lead to three. With just 50 seconds left before the break, Giulio Bregu got in on the action, turning Nishioka's second assist of the day into the team's fourth goal, leaving the Mustangs up, 4-0, heading into the half.
 
Things picked up quickly in the second half, as the first Mustang returner got on the board just 60 seconds into the new frame. Javier Rodriguez scored at the 46:00 mark to make it a 5-0 game. Othman Gherab then scored his first goal in the Royal and Gold in the 60th minute, pushing Monroe's lead to 6-0 with a third of the game left to play. The Knights got on the board with a goal from Isaiah Price in the 78th minute, but the Mustangs kept their hosts off the board the rest of the way for the 6-1 win.
 
Goalkeeper Victor Camps picked up his first win as a Mustang, making four saves and yielding just one goal to start 1-0. CCBC-Essex netminder Kyler Cooper shouldered the loss after making 10 saves and allowing six goals.
 
Nishioka dished out a team-high two assists, while Figueroa added the lone other assist for the Mustangs. Monroe outshot CCBC-Essex, 24-11, while putting 16 shots on net. The Mustangs also doubled up the Knights in corner kicks, 6-3.
 
The Mustangs close out the weekend on Sunday, when they take on Harford Community College at CCBC-Essex's turf field. Kickoff is slated for 4 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).