NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., October 27, 2023 –
Sabrina Bastos da Silva played the hero on Friday at Skidelsky Field. After Friday's East District Championship quarterfinal between No. 12 Monroe College Mustangs women's soccer and Harcum College went to overtime with a 1-1 tie, Bastos da Silva ended the game just 36 minutes into the extra minute with a golden goal to give the Mustangs a 2-1 victory and advance them to the East District Championship semifinals.
Just 36 seconds into overtime, Bastos da Silva had nothing but daylight and the goalkeeper in front of her from 25 yards out. She fired to the right corner of the net past the diving keeper and into the goal, ending the game with the golden-goal winner.
After 45 scoreless minutes in Friday's quarterfinal matchup, it took just 50 seconds for the first goal of the game to hit the back of the net. Harcum's Sofia Melendez managed to sneak behind Monroe's defense, receiving a cross just in front of the net and beating the keeper to put the Bears on top, 1-0, in the 46th minute.
The Mustangs finally got on the board to tie the game in the 62nd minute.
Katie Neilson sent a free kick into traffic just inside the box.
Paula Campos managed to deflect over to
Natali Maymon, who beat the keeper to the top of the net one-on-one to knot things up at 1-1. After 90 minutes, neither team was able to take the lead, sending the game to a golden-goal overtime.
Natalie Dobler earned the win for the Mustangs in net, making a season-high eight saves to help the Mustangs advance. Maria Alfaro stopped five shots with two goals allowed for the Bears in 90 minutes. Hope Starolis took the loss after taking over in overtime.
With Friday's victory, the Mustangs are now set to make another trip up to Rochester, N.Y., on Wednesday, Nov. 1, to take on No. 5 Monroe Community College in a rematch from Sept. 23, with a chance at the East District Championship finals on the line. Wednesday's semifinal matchup is set to begin at 6 p.m.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven 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).
