HERKIMER, N.Y., June 3, 2021 – Playing in a consolation game as part of the 2020-21 NJCAA Div. III Men's Soccer Championship, the No. 6 seed Monroe College Express men's soccer team fell to No. 7 Rock Valley College by a score of 4-2 Thursday afternoon at Herkimer College's Wehrum Stadium. Thursday's contest was the final game of the season for both teams.
 
The Golden Eagles got on the board first in Thursday's contest with a goal in the 8th minute. Bernardo Dominguez outraced the defense down the field and then scored to the left corner of the net to give Rock Valley an early 1-0 advantage. The Golden Eagles then got one more in the final minute of the half when Edgar Tejeda redirected a corner kick from Jaime Alvarez with his head right into the back of the net, leaving Rock Valley on top, 2-0, heading into the half.
 
Rock Valley made it a 3-0 lead in the 58th minute of the game. Luis Olivares scored directly off a corner kick from the left wing to put the Golden Eagles up by three. The Express responded 30 seconds later when Nawaine Brown fired from about 30 yards out off the left post, which then ricocheted to the right post and barely over the line for a goal, making it a 3-1 match in the 59th minute.
 
In the 63rd minute, Amani Amrani sent a cross from the goal line back toward the middle of the box that was deflected off the keeper's hands, but right to Poh Reh, who fired it in to make it a 4-1 lead for Rock Valley. The Express got on the board one last time in the 88th minute when Yosef Tamay sent a long cross up to Abul Chowdhury, who beat the defense and then struck it past the keeper to the right corner of the net to make it a 4-2 game.
 
Making his first-ever start in goal, Alfredo Garcia-Flores turned in another gutsy effort for the Express with six saves, but he shouldered his second loss of the weekend in the game. Rock Valley's Sebastian Centeno made three saves and allowed two goals to pick up the win.
 
Brown and Chowdhury each picked up a goal for the Express in Thursday's consolation game. James Gerbier, who was selected to the 2020-21 NJCAA Div. III Men's Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team, led the Express with three shots and two shots on goal in the match. Tamay provided an assist.
 
An historical season for the Monroe Express men's soccer team came to an end with Thursday's contest. The Express won their first ever Region 15 Championship, as well as the North Atlantic District Championship, earning the program's first-ever trip to the NJCAA Div. III Men's Soccer Championship tournament. They also earned their first-ever national ranking, coming in at No. 9 in the final week of the NJCAA Div. III Men's Soccer Rankings this season. The Express will return for a traditional fall season in just a few months.

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).