PURCHASE, N.Y. – The #2-seed and nationally ranked No. 9 Monroe University – Bronx men's soccer team won its Region 15 Semifinal matchup over #6-seed Kingsborough Community College, 4-1, at Purchase College Soccer Field on Wednesday afternoon.
As a result, Monroe advances to the Region 15 Final for the first time since the spring 2021 season. The Express will battle top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 4 Nassau Community College on Saturday, at Mitchel Athletic Complex, beginning at 3:30 p.m. The winner of Saturday's championship match will capture the regional title and an automatic bid into the NJCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament.
"Everything we worked on leading up to this game paid off, and the guys did a phenomenal job," Express Head Coach
Jose Hernandez said. "I'm really proud of the performance, and I believe we deserved to earn our place in the championship game. That being said, our goal is not accomplished yet. This is a great win, and we're going to enjoy it, but our focus has already shifted to the final objective of the season. We're prepared to give everything we have to achieve what we've been working toward all year."
In the win over Kingsborough (12-4-2), the Express (11-5-2) struck first just under 10 minutes into the contest as
Maynor Palacios gathered the ball off a scramble inside the box and lined it into the back of the cage to put the Blue and Gold up 1-0.
Monroe struck again in the 26
th minute as
Robert Arias delivered the ball to
Cheikh Toure who settled it down and rifled the shot past the goalkeeper and into the net to extend Monroe's lead to 2-0. It marked Toure's 11
th goal of the season.
The Express' defense shut down the Wave throughout the first half, not allowing a shot on goal and only six attempted shots during the opening 45 minutes of play. Monroe went into the intermission up 2-0.
Kingsborough got off to a strong start in the second half as Omario Walters found the back of the net during the 51
stminute to slice the lead in half.
Less than a minute later, the Wave had a chance to tie it but Allan Pelcastre's shot was denied by
Raymond Romero.
Monroe eventually regained its composure as
Kadiff Wolfe directed a high ball to Arias who settled it down. Then, he kicked the ball from the right wing and the ball sailed over the goalkeeper's head and into the upper left corner of the goal to once again give Monroe a two-goal advantage.
In the 66
th minute, Arias executed a corner kick which sailed inside the box.
Mamadou Top headed the ball into the net off the corner kick to make it a 4-1 match in favor of the Express.
The Wave compiled two more shots during the remaining 24:42 of the contest, including one on target that was stopped by Romero. Neither of those two shots went into the net as Monroe ended up clinching the regional semifinal win by a score of 4-1 to secure its spot in the Region 15 Championship match.
"I'm extremely happy and proud to work with this amazing group of players and coaching staff," Hernandez said. "Now, we need to stay focused, keep believing in ourselves, and finish what we started. One more to go!"
During the afternoon, Monroe had the advantage in shot attempts, 25-12, including shots on target, 11-3. The Express also held a surplus in corner kicks by a 6-2 margin.
In goal,
Kimany Arzu started the contest for the Express and produced a clean sheet in the first half to earn the win. Romero entered the match at the start of the second half and made three saves.
For the Wave, Mario Brown turned aside seven shots.
Arias led the Express with a goal and two assists for a total of four points during the afternoon.
For updates regarding the upcoming Region 15 Final, check out www.MonroeExpress.com as well as our social media channels.
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