NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The conditions for Saturday’s Region championship game at City Park in New Rochelle could hardly have been worse. The cold and steady rain was the backdrop for a rough-and-tumble emotion-filled contest between two long-time rivals, Monroe and ASA.
In the end though, it was the Mustangs who kept their cool in the heat of the battle, breaking open the floodgates with a goal in the 72nd minute and then a barrage of four more to take the Region XV Championship 5-0 and earn a trip to next week’s District Tournament in Massachusetts. Their season record is now 9-3.
“Maybe we didn’t play as well in the first half,” said Coach Marcus Dibernardo, “but we held our composure in a difficult, rugged, and instense game. We did what needed to do as a family. We did it class and we did it with sportsmanship. I’m proud of everyone in the program for this one.”
Once freshman Lucas Santos headed in the first Mustang goal on an assist from freshman Kalifa Sylla, the scoreless title game quickly became a blowout with goals from four other players, sophomore Yankuba Janneh, Fabian Burnett, and Michael Henry, and freshman Mamadou Balde.
“Once we got the goal, we did what we have to do,” Coach ‘D’ said. “Up and down our lineup, our guys were great. This was a total team effort.”
This is Monroe’s fourth Region title in the past five years. They were 19-2 in 2010, winning Region and District Championships and taking a fourth-place finish in the NJCAA Division I Men’s National Tournament. In 2011 they were 14-2-1 as national finalists.
Monroe will travel to Massasoit CC November 8-9 for the four-team District Tournament.