NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., August 24, 2023 – The title defense begins this Friday, Aug. 25, for the Monroe College Mustangs men's soccer team, which is coming off the 2022 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship, the program's second in four seasons. The Mustangs enter the new season at the No. 1 ranked team in the NJCAA in both the NJCAA and United Soccer Coach Preseason Polls, and will open the season in Lancaster, S.C.
Monroe kicks off 2023 looking to run it back, with its sights set on repeating as National Champions and taking home the program's third title. Head Coach
Marcus DiBernardo heads into his 16th season at the helm of the men's soccer program at Monroe with a 181-34-17 overall record (.817) through his first 15 years.
The Mustangs had an obviously strong season in 2023, suffering its only loss of the year in the East District Championship game, an upset at home to Montgomery College. Monroe entered the 2022 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship as the No. 3 seed with an at-large selection. Monroe's Pool Play opener against No. 10 Angelina College went scoreless through 110 minutes, requiring penalty kicks to determine a winner. The Mustangs won the PKs, 4-2. The Mustangs then fell behind, 2-0, to No. 6 Jefferson College in the final matchup of the Pool Play round, but managed to storm back with three unanswered goals to pick up the victory and advance to the semifinals.
The Mustangs faced off with No. 8 Cowley College in the semifinals, allowing a goal to the Tigers in the second minute of the game. The Mustangs came back once again with two goals by
Tony Yeboah later in the first half, and held on for the 2-1 victory to advance to the final. The Championship game against No. 7 Arizona Western College went scoreless into halftime, but
Diego Batista capitalized on a penalty-kick opportunity early in the second half to take a 1-0 lead.
Tony Yeboah followed that in the 79th minute to give Monroe a 2-0 lead, eventually holding that score to claim the 2022 NJCAA National Championship.
The Mustangs return 12 sophomores from last year's roster, including All-Americans
Thiago Jose Da Silva,
Felipe Jaime Arruda and
Shotaro Kino. Goalkeeper
Johan Morales is also part of the returning crew after making a heroic effort in the NJCAA Championship tournament after taking over for injured starter
Maurice Koenig to help the Mustangs take home gold. The Mustangs also welcome 15 newcomers to the roster heading into opening weekend who all know that the expectations for this program are as high as can be.
The Mustangs get things started this season with a pair of contests hosted by USC Lancaster. The Mustangs will first take on USC Sumter in a neutral-site matchup on Friday, Aug. 25, to open the new season. Monroe then takes on host USC Lancaster on Sunday, Aug. 27, to close out the opening weekend.
Monroe gets back on the road the following weekend for the annual Tom Bichey Memorial Tournament, hosted by Montgomery College in Rockville, Md. They will take on Harford Community College on Saturday, Sept. 2, before facing off with host Montgomery on Sunday, Sept. 3.
The Mustangs then play three of their next four matches at home, beginning on Sept. 15 when they welcome Lake Tahoe Community College of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) for an exhibition at Skidelsky Field. They follow that up on Tuesday, Sept. 19, with a road matchup at East District foe Harcum College on Sept. 19, before returning home on Sept. 22 to take on Mercer County Community College. Sept. 30 will then see Harcum visit New Rochelle for a matchup under the lights on a Saturday night.
The first week of October will see the Mustangs take a trip down to Florida to take on two of the nation's best teams in Melbourne, Fla. First, Monroe takes on No. 8 Daytona State College on Oct. 5. They then complete the trip on Oct. 7 when they challenge No. 10 Eastern Florida State College.
The Mustangs are back in New Rochelle on Oct. 13 for an exhibition against Lancaster Elite. The final road contest of the regular season takes place in Baltimore, Md. when Monroe visits Div. II No. 2 CCBC Essex on Oct. 16. The regular season concludes on Oct. 20 when the Mustangs host another East District rival in No. 20 Monroe Community College.
The postseason format for the East District will be determined and announced at a later date. The 2023 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship is set to take place at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kan., from Nov. 12-18.
Monroe's pursuit of a repeat begins with its matchup against USC Sumter tomorrow, Aug. 25. Kickoff for the season opener is set for 4:30 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).
