MELBOURNE, Fla., November 24, 2019 – A spectacular season and a winning streak that spanned 25 months came to an unfortunate end Saturday evening, as the top-ranked Monroe College Mustang women's soccer team was unable to repeat as NJCAA Div. I Women's Soccer Champions after taking a 4-1 defeat against No. 3 Tyler Junior College at Orlando Health Stadium. The loss is the Mustangs' first since October 2017.
 
The first half looked much like last year's NJCAA Championship final, seeing Tyler take an early lead. Mukarama Abdulai scored for the Apaches in the eighth minute of the game, putting them up, 1-0, early in the contest.
 
Just like 2018, the Mustangs scored the equalizer right at the end of the second half. Luana Grabias set up for a free kick in the 44th minute. She sent it deep into the box, where a Tyler defender tried to head it away, but it deflected in the wrong direction and got into the goal, tying the game right before halftime.
 
It was a different story in the second half this time around, as a big mistake for the Mustangs set the tone for the rest of the game. Goalkeeper Stefane Rosa picked up a foul trying to make a play on the ball outside of the box, yielding her a devastating red card in the 54th minute, forcing Monroe to play one woman down the rest of the way and forcing Grabias to take over as the emergency goalkeeper the rest of the way.
 
It did not take long for the Apaches to take advantage of the situation, as Abdulai scored just three minutes later to make it a 2-1 game. Three minutes after that, Natalie Martinez scored another Apache goal, putting Tyler up, 3-1, with just over 30 minutes left to play.
 
Jhanivy Mamani took over in net for the Mustangs shortly after and was able to hold the Apaches in check for a while, but Marta Estupinan managed to score in the 89th minute to make it a 4-1 game with time just about to expire.
 
For their efforts throughout the tournament, Grabias, Mayara Queiroz Reis and Sydoney Clarke were all selected to the 2019 NJCAA Div. I Women's Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team.
 
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).