The calendar turning to December means it’s the beginning of the winter season for Region XV athletics, but it also signals the end of the Fall 2018 schedule for teams that were talented enough to advance through Regional play and compete on the National level. No team saw more success on that level than the Monroe Mustangs, who earned themselves a National Championship victory in Women’s Soccer (pictured).
After going undefeated in pool play and advancing after a nail-biter in the semifinals against #5 seeded Eastern Florida State, the Mustangs, vying for their second Championship in five years, set themselves up for a bout with the defending National Champion and #1 overall seed Tyler. The title game couldn’t have started any worse for Monroe.
The team allowed a goal to Tyler 90 seconds after the opening whistle, but their keeper kept it a one goal deficit until Monroe got on the board and tied the game in the 42nd minute. In the 72nd minute after 27 minutes of even play, Monroe’s Maria Santin netted the eventual game-winning goal. An insurance goal in the 83rd minute cemented the 3-1 final score.
Monroe’s Yolanda Albalat and Marta Alemany were named Tournament Offensive and Defensive Most Valuable Player, respectively, while five total Mustangs were named to the all-Tournament team.
Individually, no athlete earned as much recognition on the National level than Kingsborough’s Tyesha James, who broke the tape at the DIII women’s cross country national race with a time of 19:30.83, nearly five seconds faster than the second place finisher.
Elsewhere in the Region, Nassau men’s soccer also appeared primed to claim a National title of their own, sporting the country’s best record at 17-1 and holding the #1 seed for the NJCAA event. The Lions advanced through to the title game against last year’s national runner-up Richland.
The team even held a 1-0 lead coming into the second half, but defensively everything fell apart for the Lions in the final 45 minutes. A goal by Richland in the 48th minute knotted the game at 1-1, but then the floodgates opened in the 71st minute. A goal by Lucio Martinez of Richland gave the team a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, and four more goals were allowed over the final 19 minutes of play to seal the 6-1 final.
Monroe’s men’s soccer team also qualified for Nationals but failed to advance to the Championship game. The Mustangs fell to eventual Champion Pima by a 1-0 final in the tournament’s semifinal round.
Monroe and Queensborough women’s volleyball also contended for their respective Division’s NJCAA tournaments but failed to advance past the quarterfinal rounds. Suffolk men’s cross country placed third in the country with Jonathan Gonzalez earning first-team All-American honors. Suffolk also placed 3rd on the women’s side with FIT finishing right behind in 4th.
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