NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., August 18, 2022 – Just nine months ago, the Monroe College Mustangs women's soccer team took on top-seeded Tyler Junior College in the final game of Pool Play at the 2021 NJCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla. A tough, 1-0 defeat sent the Mustangs home from the tournament, but Monroe gets a chance to change the narrative to open the 2022 campaign. Monroe and Tyler go head-to-head Thursday evening down in Texas to open the new season.
 
Thursday evening's opener is instantly one of the most highly anticipated NJCAA Division I matchups of the early season, as the Mustangs enter the year ranked No. 5 in the nation, while Tyler holds the No. 2 ranking. The Mustangs made it an even more worthwhile trip down to Texas, as they are set to take on No. 15 LSU-Eunice in a neutral-site matchup at Tyler's Pat Hartley Field Complex on Saturday.
 
The Mustangs finished 2021 with a 9-2-2 record, with the team's only losses coming in the season opener against No. 2 Salt Lake Community College, and what proved to be the season finale against Tyler. Those defeats bookended a stellar season for Monroe, which held a 44-7 goal differential across a 9-0-2 run. The Mustangs won the East District Championship, earning them their spot at the national tournament.
 
Monroe's Texas trip begins a 10-game homestand to start the season for the Mustangs. The following weekend, the Mustangs take a trip to the Carolinas, first taking on Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte on Friday, Aug. 26, before a matchup at USC Lancaster on Aug. 28. Another week later, The Mustangs go to Maryland for the Montgomery College Tournament, where they will take on Montgomery on Sept. 2, followed by a Sept. 4 match against Harford Community College.
 
The tournaments conclude but the trips continue well into September for the Mustangs. They head upstate to Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y. on Sept. 9, and then make a stop on their way home at Bryant & Stratton College (Syracuse) on Sept. 10. Monroe makes one more trip down south, when they make a mid-week trip to Florida. On Sept. 20, the Mustangs visit defending NJCAA Champion and No. 1-ranked Eastern Florida State College. Two days later, they will take on Daytona State College back at the site of last year's NJCAA Championship tournament.
 
The Mustangs remain in the northeast after that, beginning with their home opener on Thursday, Sept. 29. Monroe hosts Brookdale Community College at Skidelsky Field at Flowers Park in New Rochelle for a 2:30 p.m. match. Nearly two weeks later, the Mustangs get back to work at Sussex County Community College on Tuesday, Oct. 11. Another week later, Brookdale comes back to New Rochelle once more for another 2:30 p.m. contest on Oct. 18.
 
The next three weekends will feature the Region Championship, followed by the semifinals and finals of the East District Championship. Should the Mustangs advance that far, the 2022 NJCAA Div. I Women's Soccer Championship will be held at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Ga.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 35 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band and the newly added esports and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 11 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).