ACCORD, N.Y. – The Monroe University – Bronx men's soccer team opened Region 15 play with an impressive road victory over Ulster County Community College, 3-2, at Rondout Valley Soccer Field on Saturday afternoon. It marked the first victory of the season for the Express who advance to 1-2-1 overall and 1-0-0 against regional competition.
Oumar Barry led the way by scoring all three of the Express' goals during the contest. He now has four goals and nine points this season.
Monroe surrendered a tally within the first five minutes of the match to fall behind 1-0. Barry responded in the 10
th minute as he received a through pass from
Aliou Diallo and slipped the ball past the opposing goalkeeper to even the match at 1-1.
In the 23
rd minute,
Jeffrey Juca shot the ball from the right wing but the goalkeeper made the stop for Ulster County. However, after the ball bounced off of the netminder, Barry was right there to head the ball into the back of the cage off the deflection to give Monroe a 2-1 advantage. Juca was credited with the assist on the play.
In the 51
st minute, Barry forced a turnover in the opposition's defensive end, dribbled the ball down the attacking zone, and then beat the Senators' keeper one-on-one to complete the hat trick and extend the Blue and Gold's benefit to 3-1.
The Express' defense was able to shut down Ulster County (1-2-0, 0-2-0 Region 15) for the most part. The Senators did score their second goal to pull to within one with just a minute left in the match, but Monroe's defense did not allow Ulster County another scoring chance for the remainder of the contest.
The Express went on to win the regional battle by a score of 3-2.
"Ulster County is a very good team with a lot of quality players, and we knew from the start that this was going to be a very important game," Express Head Coach
Jose Hernandez said. "Our guys stepped up, competed, and found a way to get the result. Winning our Region 15 opener is important, but what I'm most proud of is the mentality we showed. We're hungry, we're confident, and we know there's a lot more ahead of us. This is just the beginning."
Kimany Arzu came up big in the net for Monroe – Bronx as he made eight saves to get the win.
The Express produced 13 shots during the afternoon, with six of them on goal, while taking three corner kicks.
Monroe will host its home opener on Tuesday against Orange County Community College. The Region 15 contest will take place at Flowers Park beginning at 3 p.m.
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