MELBOURNE, Fla., November 20, 2019 – A brilliant second-half performance by
Luana Grabias helped lift the top-seeded Monroe College Mustangs women's soccer team to a comeback 3-2 victory over No. 8 Laramie County Community College in Wednesday's NJCAA Div. I Women's Soccer Championship Pool A contest at Orlando Health Stadium. The Mustangs claim Pool A with the win after going 2-0 in pool play, sending the Mustangs to the semifinals of the tournament for the second straight season as they look to repeat as champions.
Much like Monday's pool-play matchup with No. 12 Monroe Community College, the game went to the half without a goal, seeing stellar play from the goalkeepers on both ends of the field.
Also like Monday's contest, the Mustangs fell behind early in the second half in Wednesday's matchup with the Golden Eagles. Laramie County's Faith Meredith stole the ball right near the top of the box in the offensive zone, and found herself one-on-one with
Stefane Rosa. She was able to chip it just past the Mustang netminder, giving the Golden Eagles a 1-0 advantage in the 52nd minute.
Things changed quickly as
Luana Grabias put the team on her back. She came sprinting down the field off a through ball by
Isabelle Andrea Tola in the 61st minute, left a trio of defenders in the dust, and made it look easy getting it past the keeper to the left and tying the game at 1-1.
Just eight minutes later, a long cross by
Sydoney Clarke snuck just over a defender, finding Grabias in the offensive zone one-on-one with another defender. Grabias kept fighting her off as she made her way to the left of the box, then fired a strike off her left foot to the right of the net, past the diving keeper and into the goal to put the Mustangs ahead, 2-1.
The Mustangs then took advantage of a big mistake by the Golden Eagles with just over 13 minutes to play. Clarke took the ball away deep in the Mustangs' offensive zone with just one defender in the box. She quickly tapped it up to Grabias, who quickly sent it into the top-left corner of the net, giving the Mustangs a 3-1 lead with her third straight score.
The Golden Eagles had a free-kick opportunity from the far-right wing in the 83rd minute. After it was kicked out to the top of the box, Taylor Meyrick came up with it, turned, and shot to the left post, just sneaking it between the pipe and Rosa to get the Golden Eagles within a score. The Mustangs were then able to play keep away for the final six minutes of the game, securing their spot in the NJCAA semifinals for the second straight season.
Rosa stopped eight shots in net to pick up the win for the Mustangs and improve to 13-0 on the year. Laramie County keeper Larissa Sitzler made six saves, but allowed the three goals to Grabias to shoulder the loss.
The Mustangs will take on No. 4 Lewis & Clark Community College in the NJCAA Championship semifinals on Friday, Nov. 22. The Trailblazers advanced to the semifinals after winning Pool D via tiebreaker. Friday's contest is scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m. Friday's second semifinal matchup will feature Pool B winner, No. 2 Eastern Florida State College, vs. Pool C winner, No. 3 Tyler Junior College. Friday will feature two 2018 rematches, as Monroe and Lewis & Clark faced off in the pool play round of the 2018 NJCAA Div. I Women's Soccer Championship, while Tyler and Eastern Florida State went head-to-head in last year's semifinals.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 31 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 12 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).
