MIAMI, Fla., September 5, 2024 – After a tough defeat to start the Miami trip on Wednesday, the No. 15-ranked Monroe University Mustangs women's soccer team bounced back with a 3-0 shutout victory over Polk State College Thursday morning. Monroe improves to 4-2 overall, while the Eagles drop to 0-1.
After a scoreless 45 minutes, the Mustangs broke through with a pair of quick goals midway through the second half.
Katherine Bean-Rosario scored at the 62:11 mark off an assist by
Carmen Santamaria to put the Mustangs up by a goal.
Just 66 seconds later,
Maiko Kikuchi potted one off a feed from the team's assists leader,
Katherine Neves, swiftly doubling Monroe's lead at 2-0 in the 64th minute.
In the 84th minute, the Mustangs caught a break to push their lead to 3-0. A miscommunication between an Eagles defender and the goalkeeper led to a pass rolling into the goal for an own goal late in the contest.
Beatrice Vitaletti picked up the shutout victory in net for the Mustangs, making four saves without yielding a goal to earn her third victory of the season. Leona Kraus played 74 minutes for the Eagles, giving up two goals with 11 saves to take the loss.
Bean-Rosario scored what proved to be the game-winning goal for her seventh score of the season in the win. Kikuchi's goal was also her seventh of the year, tying her with Bean-Rosario for second on the team. Neves' assist was her 10th of the season, while Santamaria notched her third helper of the year.
The Mustangs outshot the Eagles, 25-8 in Thursday's win. They also registered 15 shots on goal compared to just four for Polk State. The Eagles managed to hold a 5-4 edge in corner-kick opportunities.
The Mustangs are now off until next weekend when they take a trip out to Long Island to take on NJCAA Div. III No. 4 Suffolk County Community College on Saturday, Sept. 14. Next Saturday's kickoff is set for 12 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).
