NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., August 24, 2024 – The No. 13-ranked Monroe College Mustangs women's soccer team put on a show in its 2024 season opener on Saturday, defeating Montgomery College, 8-0, at Skidelsky Field. The Mustangs start the year at 1-0, while the Raptors fall to 1-1.
Saturday's match got off to a slower start, but the Mustangs scored their first goal of the year when
Carmen Santamaria sent a long free kick over the keeper in the 23rd minute for a 1-0 advantage. That proved to be the lone score of the opening 45 minutes, sending the game to halftime with the Mustangs up a goal.
The Mustangs later exploded in the second half. Maiki Kikuchi earned a penalty-kick opportunity in the 51st minute and scored to the top-right of the net to double the lead.
Roxie Fowler headed in a corner kick from
Julia Meyer in the 54th minute for a 3-0 lead, and then
Katherine Bean-Rosario scored just 25 seconds later after Montgomery's keeper misplayed a cross, taking it away and firing it in off the left post to put Monroe up by four.
The Mustangs kept rolling when Bean-Rosario netted another in the 58th minute off a long free kick from Santamaria into the box, providing Bean-Rosario with a perfect header opportunity to beat the keeper and bring the score to 5-0.
Hara Sakurako picked up her first goal off an assist from
Katherine Neves at 67' to make it a 6-0 game. Neves got on the board herself in the 70th minute after stealing the ball from the keeper and scoring from the goal line on the right wing to go up by seven. Meyer provided the final score of the day at 71:18 after being set up at the top of the box by Neves to reach the final score of 8-0.
Monroe goalkeeper
Beatrice Vitaletti made one save in nearly 54 minutes in net to earn her first win with the Mustangs. Nadia Estrada yielded 5 of Monroe's eight goals in net for Montgomery while making five saves to pick up her first loss.
Bean-Rosario scored twice in the win on five shots for a four-point day. Neves matched her four points with a goal and two assists. Santamaria and Meyer also had multi-point afternoons with a goal and an assist apiece in the season opener.
The Mustangs outshot the Raptors, 39-1, on the day, including a 16-1 advantage in shots on goal. The Mustangs also had the game's only five corner kicks.
With a convincing win in-hand to start the season, the Mustangs are set to travel to Texas this upcoming week. Monroe will open up in Corsicana, Texas, on Wednesday, Aug. 28, when they take on No. 7-ranked Navarro College in the first-ever meeting between the two perennial women's soccer powerhouses. Wednesday's matchup will kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. CT).
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).
