UNIONDALE, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 7 Monroe University – Bronx men's soccer team suffered its first Region 15 loss of the year on Tuesday evening, falling to the country's fifth-ranked Nassau Community College by a 1-0 score at Mitchel Athletic Complex. The loss snaps Monroe's eight-match winning streak.
It was a strong defensive effort by both teams as the Express (8-3-1, 8-1-0 Region 15) were held to just eight shots during the evening and only two of them were on goal. The Lions (8-0-1, 6-0-1 Region 15) only mustered up 10 total shots with four on target.
However, Nassau was able to bury one of those four shots on goal as Edgar Velazquez found the back of the net during the 53
rd minute to break a scoreless tie. Ismael Garcia and Adryan Campos were credited with an assist on the goal.
After getting shut down for the majority of the match, Monroe earned opportunities to tie the contest during the final seven minutes of play.
Mamadou Bangoura rifled a shot but it was denied by Lions' goalkeeper Victord Lozano.
With 4:07 remaining in the match, one of the players on Nassau picked up a red card which gave Monroe an 11-on-10 advantage for the remainder of the contest.
Brandon Loyola tried to take advantage by lining a shot but it sailed high. Later on, with exactly one minute remaining, Bangoura had one more chance to tie the match but his shot was once again stopped by Lozano.
The clock eventually ticked down to zero, and Monroe was handed its first regional loss of the year. The Lions remain undefeated this season.
Despite the loss, the Express remain in first place in the regional standings with 24 points, just one point ahead of second-place Kingsborough Community College. Nassau, with 19 points in the regional standings, is tied for fourth place with Borough of Manhattan Community College.
Nassau had a slight edge over Monroe in corner kicks during the evening, 3-2.
Kimany Arzu made three saves in net for the Blue and Gold. Lozano turned aside two shots to earn the shutout victory for Nassau.
Robert Arias registered two shots for the Express. Teammates
Amedeus Aventurin and
Sergio Narvaez both played the entire 90 minutes and each played strong defense to help keep Monroe in the match.
The Express will return to action on Thursday afternoon for a non-region match against Sussex County Community College. The action at Flowers Park will begin at 3 p.m.
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