MELBOURNE, Fla., November 22, 2019 – A tremendous four-goal effort by
Sydoney Clarke was just what the Mustangs needed, as the top-seeded Monroe College Mustangs women's soccer team turned in a gutsy effort to defeat No. 4 Lewis & Clark Community College, 5-3, Friday morning in the NJCAA Div. I Women's Soccer Championship semifinals at Orlando Health Stadium. The win sends the Mustangs to the national championship game for the second straight season, where they will look to capture their second consecutive NJCAA Championship.
After scoreless first halves in each of the Mustangs' pool play matchups, The Mustangs quickly changed the narrative in Friday morning' semifinal contest. Clarke scored at the 1:47 mark after being led by
Isabelle Andrea Tola. She sprinted past the defense and was one-on-one with the keeper, chipping it right past her and into the net to quickly put the Mustangs ahead, 1-0.
It was Deja vu in the 16th minute, as Tola had the ball at the top-right corner of box, where she chipped it up to a wide-open Clarke, who flipped it right over the keeper and into the goal to make it a 2-0 game at the 15:11 mark of the first half. The Mustangs carried that two-goal advantage into the halftime break.
The Trailblazers made a strong push around the 60-minute mark of the game. Chelsea Riden was set up perfectly with a cross from the right wing from Boitumelo Rabale, allowing her to one-time it into the net to cut the deficit in half. Just under two minutes later, Kara Crutchley chipped one forward from right in front of the net, where it took a surprisingly high bounce right over the diving
Stefane Rosa and into the goal to tie the game at 2-2.
In the 72nd minute, after a number of Mustangs went down with some injuries, Tola and Clarke once again came through with a big play. Tola led Clarke up the field, where she beat the defense and was one-on-one with the keeper, making it look easy firing to the left and getting it inside the post to put the Mustangs back in the lead, 3-2.
Two minutes later,
Laia Munoz Danon took over at midfield and sprinted toward the goal. Clarke was waiting just beyond the box to help her out, and some back-and-forth got Danon past the defense, where Clarke found her inside the box. Danon then rolled it to the left of the keeper and over the line, pushing Monroe's lead to 4-0 with 16:38 on the clock.
With just about eight minutes remaining, the Mustangs took down Rabale inside the box, awarding her a penalty kick. Rabale capitalized on the opportunity, scoring the goal to make it a 4-3 game with time running thin.
In the 88th minute of the game, Clarke once again had control and sprinted right through the defense into the box. Once more, she struck it past the keeper for her fourth goal of the day, pushing the lead to 5-3 and helping ice the game.
Rosa allowed three goals for the first time this season on Friday, but made six saves to help pick up the win and improve to 14-0 on the season. Mercedes Kings made six stops as well, but yielded five goals the Mustangs to take the loss in net.
Clarke finished with four goals and an assist for a huge nine-point day on Friday. She pushes her season total to 34 goals and 12 assists for 80 total points. This was also Clarke's eighth game with three or more goals, and her 12th game with at least a point. Tola was credited with two assists in the win, while Danon picked up her eighth goal of the season.
The Mustangs are back in the NJCAA Div. I Women's Soccer Championship finals for the second straight season, and will look to capture their second straight national championship on Saturday, Nov. 23. Kickoff for Saturday's championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Orlando Health Stadium. The Mustangs await the winner of No. 2 Eastern Florida State College and No. 3 Tyler Junior College. The Mustangs would essentially be playing an away game should Eastern Florida State advance to the finals, while a Tyler victory would set up a rematch of the 2018 title game.
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).
