PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y., October 20, 2018 – The Monroe College Express men's soccer team hosted its first-ever Region XV Championship Tournament contest at Pace Stadium on Saturday. Monroe was unable to overcome an early two-goal deficit in the quarterfinal matchup, falling to Rockland Community College by a score of 2-1. The Express finish the season with an 8-4 overall record, while Rockland improves to 5-7-1.
 
The Hawks got on the board first in Saturday's postseason contest. Steeve Cadet managed to find the ball in the box after it bounced around following a free kick, turning it into the right corner of the net at the 12:30 mark to give the visitors a 1-0 lead early on.
 
Rockland made it 2-0 in the 21st minute. Christopher Hearn received a long pass down the middle of the field, beat a defender, and then beat the keeper to the right, giving the Hawks an early two-goal edge, which they would eventually take into the halftime break.
 
The Express finally broke through in the 61st minute. After the ball was kicked around in the box, Keybi Garcia found it and fired high, just off the keeper's fingertips, and over the line to cut the deficit to 2-1. Despite some opportunities for the Express in front of the net, they were unable to get one past Rockland's goalie to tie the game, resulting in the 2-1 final score.
 
Rockland goalkeeper Patrick Krummack was impressive in net, stopping 10 shots on the day and allowing just one goal to earn the victory. Mustapha Ceesay shouldered the loss for the Express.
 
The Express were aggressive on offense all afternoon, winning the shot battle, 37-7, including an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal. They also earned 13 corner kicks compared to just three for the Hawks. Garcia and Elhadj Diallo matched with a team-high six shots on the day, while Ryan Smart and Abdoul Sangare each fired off five.
 
The second-ever Monroe Express men's soccer season comes to a close with Saturday's defeat. In their first postseason-eligible campaign, the Express qualified for the Region XV playoffs, impressively as the No. 2 seed. The Express have gone 8-4 in each of their first two seasons.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's rugby, and the newly added club women's rugby team, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of Monroe's Bronx campus has six teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level beginning with their inaugural seasons in the fall of 2017.
 
For more information about the Monroe Express, please visit us at www.MonroeExpress.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Express), Twitter (@MonroeExpress) and Instagram (@MonroeExpress).