NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., August 21, 2024 – History is within reach for the Monroe College Mustangs men's soccer program in 2024. The Mustangs enter a new season with a target on their backs, having won back-to-back NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championships, with a chance to become the first team to ever win the title three straight seasons. Monroe's second straight title defense kicks off on Thursday, Aug. 22, in a matchup at Miami Dade College.
Monroe earned the third National Championship in program history in 2023, using penalty kicks to defeat Tyler Junior College to secure its second straight championship. The Mustangs have won three of the last five NJCAA Championships, picking up their first title back in 2019. Since 1961, 11 teams have won back-to-back NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championships, but no team has been able to secure three straight.
The No. 1-ranked Mustangs' journey to the 2024 championship will rely upon many new faces to get them there, with just six student-athletes returning from the 2023 championship squad. 17th-year head coach
Marcus DiBernardo says building chemistry early in the season will be one of Monroe's biggest hurdles to clear on their path to the title.
"This is a brand-new team," said DiBernardo. "This team's going to take a little bit of time to gel and to get fit, and start to understand each other, and for the coaching staff to get to know the guys as well."
Monroe's roster heading into its first match of the season features student-athletes from 14 different nations and territories, and while language barriers and different styles of play can make it difficult to get on the same page, this is a challenge the Mustangs are no strangers to overcoming. Sophomore
Taiga Matoba explains that finding chemistry has been the players' focus throughout the preseason.
"For the preseason, focus has been coming together as a group," says Matoba. "As there are new players coming in, we just got to bring that chemistry up. No matter what result, no matter what we want to do, without chemistry there's nothing so we just got to keep it together and bring that culture together again."
The Mustangs will be tested early in the season with a pair of challenging matchups on the road, beginning with Thursday's matchup at Miami Dade. The Sharks return their men's soccer program after a 20-year hiatus, but boast a strong recruiting class and are a strong bet to being a big-time contender this season. The Mustangs then have a trip upstate to Rochester, N.Y. on Aug. 30, for a neutral-site matchup against a historically tough opponent in Laramie County Community College from Wyoming.
Monroe's home opener will see the Mustangs challenge Lancaster Elite at Skidelsky Field on Sunday, Sept. 8, kicking off a three-game homestand for Monroe. NJCAA Div. II No. 4 CCBC Essex then visits New Rochelle on Saturday, Sept. 14. Massasoit Community College comes to town on Saturday, Sept. 21, before the Mustangs get back on the road.
The Mustangs will take on a pair of rivals in Rockville, Md., on Saturday, Sept. 28, and Sunday, Sept. 29. Monroe takes on Harford Community College on Saturday before facing off with the team they beat in the 2023 East District Championship, Montgomery College. The rivalry matchups continue with the Mustangs next two contests, first with a matchup at home against Harcum College on Friday, Oct. 4. The Mustangs then head back up to Rochester on Oct. 8, this time to face off with No. 25 Monroe Community College.
Monroe stays on the road for its final three games in the regular season. The Mustangs visit Frederick Community College in Frederick, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 12, before making a second trip down to Florida for two of their toughest tests of the year. They will take on No. 13 Daytona State College on Thursday, Oct. 17, before wrapping up the regular season on Saturday, Oct. 19, at No. 9 Eastern Florida State College.
After the regular season concludes, the Mustangs will have to get through the other teams in their region and district to earn an automatic bid into the 2024 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship. The 2024 NJCAA Div. I Men's Soccer Championship will be played at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kan., the same site as last year's national championship tournament. The tournament will be held from Nov. 17-23.
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).
