NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., May 19, 2021 – Despite an abbreviated schedule for the 2020-21 season, the defending NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Champion and No. 4-ranked Monroe College Mustangs men's soccer team begins the road back to the NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship Tournament this week as the top seed for the East District Championship Tournament. The Mustangs open the tournament with a semifinal matchup against Montgomery College-Rockville this Thursday, May 20, at 1 p.m. at Flowers Park.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Where:
Semifinals and finals hosted by higher seed
Seeding:
- #4 Monroe College: 2-0 (Region 15)
- #20 Harcum College: 9-0 (Region 19)
- Frederick Community College: 9-1 (Region 20)
- Montgomery College-Rockville: 6-3 (Region 20)
Schedule:
Semifinals
Thursday, May 20
Monroe vs. Montgomery – 1 p.m.
Flowers Park – New Rochelle, NY
Harcum vs. Frederick – 2:30 p.m.
The Proving Grounds - Conshohocken, Pa.
Finals
If Monroe wins: Sunday, May 23 – 5:30 p.m.
Joseph F. Fosina Field - New Rochelle, NY (Flowers Park Football Field)
Coverage (for Monroe home games):
Live Stats:
MonroeCollegeMustangs.com/MSOCLiveStats
Live Video:
YouTube.com/MonroeMustangs
THE TEAMS
Monroe College
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
The Mustangs have had a very abbreviated 2020-21 season. They are 2-0 with a pair of 7-0 shutout victories over Suffolk County Community College and the Monroe Express. Cancellations and scheduling issues forced the Mustangs to settle for just two regular-season contests. However, the Mustangs have shown no reason to believe they are not capable of repeating their NJCAA title run from 2019.
The Mustangs are led offensively by
Ivan Silic, who scored five goals in the Mustangs' two matches so far.
Liam Murray has added three scores, while
Cooper Nunn has potted two goals.
Harry Pinchard and
Leon Sitz both have two assists and a goal for a total of four points apiece, while
Simon Gartmann also has two assists. Goalkeeper
Mathew Nikolovski earned a 90-minute shutout in Monroe's game against Suffolk, while
Leon Grueneke and
Jacob Forster combined for a shutout against the Express. The Mustangs' defense has yielded just eight total shots on the year.
Harcum College
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
With an unblemished 9-0 record, the Harcum Bears finally entered the NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Rankings this week at No. 20. The Bears are second in the NJCAA in goals scored with 59 on the season. Ryan Kingsford's 47 points are first in the NJCAA this season, while his 17 goals rank second in the nation. Kingsford is tied with teammate Dennis Chung for the NJCAA lead with 13 assists.
Frederick Community College
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
The Frederick Cougars enter Thursday's semifinal matchup at Harcum with a 9-1 overall record, having most recently defeated Montgomery College for the Region 20 Championship, 2-1, on a golden goal in the first overtime period this past Sunday. The Cougars' only loss this season came against CCBC Essex, which has been a Top-5 team in NJCAA Div. II all season. The Cougars are fifth in the NJCAA with 44 goals scored. Daniel Cabrera has 11 goals and eight assists for a team-high 30 points, while Diego Camarena has 10 goals and two assists for 22 points.
Montgomery College-Rockville
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
The Raptors are 6-3 heading into Thursday's semifinal game against the Mustangs. Two of Montgomery's three defeats this season came against Frederick, including Sunday's Region 20 Championship game that required overtime to decide a victor. The Raptors' leading scorer, Joseph Kitengie, is No. 1 in the NJCAA with 19 goals in his team's nine games this season. He also ranks second in the nation behind Harcum's Ryan Kingsford with 42 total points.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The two remaining teams after Thursday's semifinal contests will square off this weekend for the East District Championship. The winner of the championship game will earn the district's automatic bid into the 2021 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship Tournament, which will be held at the Stryker Complex in Wichita, Kan., from June 5-10.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 36 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, the Monroe College marching band, and the newly added esports program, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 17 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 Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (
@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
