Men's Soccer Climbs to #4 in National Rankings After 3-0 Season Start

There was a full slate of tournament action around the Maryland SoccerPlex this past weekend as Montgomery College hosted the Tom Bichy Soccer Tournament. Four out of the five matches featured a nationally ranked men's soccer team, and the matchups did not disappoint. 

In the first match of the tournament, #5 Nassau Community College fell to #3 Genesee Community College 3-0. MC then faced the runners-up to last year's national championship, #2 Camden County College. It was a scoreless tie in the first half, but three minutes into the second half the Raptors got on the board with a goal by Nico Smurthwaite. Later in the second half, MC freshman Diego Campos was in the right place at the right time to float a shot from outside the 18-yard box past the goalie to give the Raptors a two goal lead. Less than two minutes later the Bobby Riffle scored a free kick for the Raptors and put the icing on the cake after a Camden foul. Freshman goalkeeper, Jose Pesoa was outstanding for 90 minutes stopping all 10 shots on goal. 

Day 1 Highlights: https://youtu.be/Q_E16a4y-2Q

On day two of the tournament, it was #6 Prince George's CC defeating #5 Nassau CC 3-0 and #2 Camden County College bouncing back to beat #3 Genesee Community College 2-1 in overtime. In the final game of the tournament, the MC Raptors blanked Potomac State College of WVU 13-0. First-year student athletes, Youness Benmouna and Alex Villatoro each scored three goals while teammates Sidy Gueye, Miguel Lopez, Bobby Riffle, Giles Beven, Joel Tshiani, Nico Smurthwaite and Francisco Mangue each added a goal in the match.

Day 2 Highlights: https://youtu.be/cUZLLxz8L7E

As of September 6th, the MC Raptors men's soccer team is #4 in the NJCAA national rankings after not being ranked in the NJCAA top ten and is currently undefeated with a record of 3-0.