Montgomery College Men's Soccer Team Bowed Out of Post Season in the East District Championship Semifinals Thursday.

The Montgomery College men's soccer team fell to Monroe College, 5-1, in the East District Championship Semifinals Thursday, in a game played in New Rochelle, NY.

With the loss, the Raptors were eliminated from the postseason tournament and ended the season with a 6-4 overall record in the COVID shortened season.

After falling behind 1-0, Montgomery College was able to strike back quickly, with Abraham Israel stealing the ball off the Mustangs' left back and slotting the ball to the far post to tie the game 1-1 in the 38th minute. Unfortunately, Mustang goals on both sides of the halftime whistle killed the Raptor's momentum, and the game ended 5-1.

Goalkeeper Marvin Mendez recorded 11 saves for Montgomery and played every minute of every game this season.

The season marked Pedro Braz's return to the head coaching position with the men's soccer team, after departing in 2015. Reflecting on the Monroe loss and the season, Braz said, "We're disappointed to fall short of our goal of reaching the National Championship tournament. I'm grateful we were able to get the season in safely and begin to rebuild the program's culture. We have a new stadium and a strong core of experienced players to build on. I'm looking forward to next season."

The Raptors season was shortened and moved to the spring because of COVID-19. With a new coaching staff and a short roster thinned by injuries, the Raptors men's soccer team finished with a winning record and went 5-1 at home. As a team, Montgomery recorded 35 goals on the season, second-most in the MDJUCO and the 14th most in the NJCAA. The Raptors outscored their opponents 35-20 and averaged 3.5 goals per game and 2.1 goals allowed per game.

At the end of the regular season, striker Joseph Kitengie was the nation's leading goal scorer, with 19, lead the country in shots with 52, lead the nation in game-winning goals with five, and was second in the nation in points with 42 points. Kintengie's performance has resulted in multiple offers for Joseph to continue his college career as he graduates from Montgomery College this May.

Mendez was strong in goal for the Raptors, playing in all nine games and making 70 saves, good for fifth-most in the NJCAA. He recorded six wins and three shutouts with a .778 save percentage on the season.