NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Monroe College women’s soccer team avenged an opening day loss to Monroe Community College by defeating the fourth ranked Tribunes, 1-0, in the District Semi Final on Saturday in a match held in Valhalla, New York, at Westchester Community College. MCC had defeated the Mustangs, 2-1 in the season opener.
In what many called the best game of the semis, #4 MCC and tenth-ranked Monroe spent the first ten minutes of action feeling each other out. The scoring chances were scarce for both sides early in the contest.
Finally, the Tribunes looked like they would get on the scoreboard just past the half-hour mark when Ashley Williams blasted a shot from the right side, but sophomore goalie, Jordan Wainwright made the first of five saves to keep the game deadlocked at 0-0. Nine minutes later, Monroe Community College nearly scored again when Coumba Sow blasted a shot from point blank range that was parried by Wainwright out of bounds. The game remained scoreless into the half.
Even though the Tribunes were on the offensive late in the first half, it was the Mustangs whom came out of the intermission on the offensive. Their persistence was nearly rewarded when Bruna Tavarez had a go at goal at the 47:55 mark. The keeper made the save for MCC, but Monroe broke through 1:11 later. Bruna Tavarez played the ball up the right side and crossed it into the box where Aline Delima, the team’s leading scorer, placed the shot past the diving goalie and just inside the far post for a goal. The score, which came at 49:06, put Monroe up 1-0.
From there, strong defensive play from the backline, led by Marta Turmo and Anna Hess, combined with several more Wainwright saves, preserved the victory for the tenth-ranked Mustangs and moved them into the District Final on Sunday. Wainwright stopped another sure goal just 0:30 into the half and then made another later on to help maintain the advantage.
The Monroe College women’s soccer team will try to earn a spot in the national tournament on Sunday when they host CCRI in the District Final. These two teams met earlier in the season in New Rochelle and the Mustangs prevailed in a rout. The kickoff on Sunday is slated for 12:00 PM and the winner will earn an automatic qualifier into the national tournament.
