HERKIMER, N.Y., June 2, 2021 – The Monroe College Express men's soccer team made history Wednesday evening, competing in its first-ever NJCAA Div. III Men's Soccer Championship Tournament contest. Unfortunately, the sixth-seeded Express' title dreams came to an end on Wednesday as well, as Monroe took a 5-1 defeat at the hand of No. 3, and tournament host, Herkimer College at Wehrum Stadium. The Generals will advance to Thursdays' semifinals, while the Express will play a consolation game on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. against No. 7 Rock Valley College.
 
The Express suffered a devastating blow in the second minute of the game when goalkeeper Jose Hernandez suffered an injury on a collision had him immediately ruled out for the rest of the night. With no other goalies on the roster, defender Alfred Garcia-Flores put a pinny over his jersey, threw on goalie gloves and took over between the pipes for the Express. Despite a 13-2 shot differential in favor of the Generals, the Express defense managed to keep all shots away from the net, leading to a 0-0 stalemate after the first 45 minutes.
 
After nearly 60 scoreless minutes, the Generals finally broke the tie at the 59:50 mark. A long cross down the field took a bad bounce off an Express defender and went right to Alex Charles, who then headed it over the keeper and over the line, giving the home team a 1-0 advantage. In the 69th minute, Herkimer drew a foul just inches outside the top of the box. Ali Somow then fired it into the back of the net off the free kick to make it a 2-0 game. In the 71st minute, Charles stole the ball in Herkimer's offensive end of the field, setting up Somow in the box for another goal to push the home team's lead to 3-0.
 
The Express got on the board in the 80th minute of the game. James Gerbier drew a foul a few feet away from the goal, earning a penalty kick opportunity. Andres Lora took the chance and scored, making it a 3-1 match.
 
In the 84th minute, the Generals scored once again on a free kick. Heath Lucas bent the ball from the near-left wing into the top-right corner of the goal to push the lead to 4-1. Fiston Makoma then set up Christ Valle in the 86th minute inside the box for one final score to reach the eventual final score of 5-1.
 
­­Playing in goal for the first time, Garcia-Flores turned in a valiant effort on Wednesday, but his three saves were not enough to get the win. Herkimer's Manabu Takahashi grabbed the win with three saves of his own.
 
Lora scored the lone goal for the Express in Wednesday's quarterfinal match. Kymron Ashley led the team with three shot attempts in the game.
 
The Express' experience at the 2020-21 NJCAA Div. III Men's Soccer Championship is not over yet, as Monroe gets the chance to pick up a win on Thursday in a consolation matchup with No. 7 Rock Valley after Rock Valley's defeat against No. 2 Camden County College earlier on Wednesday. The consolation game, Game 6 of the tournament, is set to kick off at 1:30 p.m.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 36 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, the Monroe College marching band, and the newly added esports program, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 17 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
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).