NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Playing an effective counter-attack scheme against a top-flight scoring team, the Monroe Mustangs men’s soccer team opened play in the NJCAA Men’s Division I National Soccer Championships on Tuesday morning with a 1-1 tie against Louisburg (NC). As a result, to stay alive in the tournament they must win tomorrow’s match against Northeast Texas and, to give the Mustangs maximum advantage in the ‘pool play’ tiebreakers, score a lot of goals in the process.
The national tournament is set in a ‘pool play’ competition and to emerge as a semifinalist over the weekend, Monroe will need to be atop the three-team standings of their ‘pool’ after the first two games. The first tie-breaker is number of goals scored. (See Pool Play Standings and Pool Play Rules).
Tuesday’s first game was played on an icy morning under a clear blue sky in Mountain Valley Park in Prescott Valley, AZ. The soft-turf field was fast and settled in a valley surrounded by majestic mountains in the distance.
From the opening kick Coach Marcus Dibernardo’s disciplined strategy worked to perfection as the Mustangs befuddled the #3-seeded Hurricanes, neutralizing their offensive attack and then, just eight minutes into the game, Monroe got the early lead on a great finish into the lower-right side of the net by sophomore Yankuba Janneh. Sophomore Fabian Burnett had controlled the ball in the center of the field before getting it to Janneh just to the left of the box, who brilliantly rolled it past the keeper on the far side.
“We knew they were really dangerous with players who have a lot of attacking speed and skill,” Coach ‘D’ said, “so we dropped our whole team deep to limit the space they had to play in and then hit them on the counter. And we did very well, limiting them to maybe two or three good chances the whole game.”
In the 53rd minute, Louisburg tied the game and that was all scoring.
Afterwards, the #10-seeded Mustangs were looking forward to Wednesday’s crucial match against Northeast Texas, the tourney’s #6 seed.
“The only thing we’re focused on right now is the next ninety minutes,” Coach ‘D’ said in the post-game huddle. “Tomorrow we have to put a beating on to guarantee we get past this second round.”
