NEW YORK, NY –The Monroe College men’s soccer team opened its 2015 campaign in Baltimore, Maryland and came away with a win and a draw. The Mustangs defeated the hosts, Louisburg, 2-0, and earned a 2-2 tie with Eastern Florida. The team opens its home schedule on Saturday, September 5.
Joe Green got the start in goal for Monroe against Louisburg and the freshman turned aside a pair of shots to earn his first clean sheet of the season. The Mustangs helped out on offense and dominated play in the first 25 minutes of action. The team ripped off four shots in that stretch, forcing the Louisburg defender to make three saves. Monroe also earned a pair of corner kicks.
The Mustangs got on the board in the 26th minute when Kalifa Sylla, the team’s leading scorer from a season ago, found the back of the net to put Monroe up 1-0. The scored stayed that way until halftime.
Monroe managed just three shots in the second half, but capitalized with the second marker of the game. Niall Smith connected with Jordan Kinoshi for a score at the 68:19 mark. The other shots in the half came from Jorge Paez and Jaime Hinchcliffe. The Mustangs defense blanked Louisburg for the entire half to earn the 2-0 win.
In the victory, Sylla took four shots, while Hinchcliffe attempted two. Evan Finnegan and Felpie Clavijo each had a shot on goal.
The second game of the weekend saw the Mustangs earn a 2-2 draw with Eastern Florida. Monroe was efficient early on as they scored on their very first shot attempt when Nicholas Haas found Felipe Clavijo, who put the ball home and give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead. The advantage lasted for 15 minutes until a Titans goal evened the score at 1-1. An unassisted goal by Jordan Kinoshi just before halftime put the Mustangs up 2-1 at the intermission.
Eastern Florida scored the lone goal in the second half and the game ended in a 2-2 draw. Robert Ekroll played all 105 minutes in goal for Monroe and made four saves.
The Monroe College men’s soccer teams opens its home schedule on Saturday, September 5, when they host Burlington Community College. Kickoff is slated 7:00 PM.