Raptors Defeat #1 Monroe to Win District Title

New Rochelle, NY - In early September, the Raptors suffered their largest defeat of the season, falling 8-1 to the Monroe Mustangs. Their seasons diverged at that point; the Raptors fell out of the the national rankings while the Mustangs used an undefeated season to climb to #1 in the nation. Two months later, the teams met again and the Raptors exacted a measure of revenge, defeating the Mutangs 3-1 to win the NJCAA East District Championship and an automatic birth to the national tournament. 

Both teams looked to establish a lead early in the game, with the Raptors aggressively trying to find their wingers and attack the Mustang's defense and the Mustangs working combinations in the midfield to try to create space behind the Raptor's defense. In the 31st minute, Monroe appeared to break through as the Raptor's defense conceded a penalty kick. However, freshman goalkeeper Thomas Mauro preserved the deadlock, diving to his right to block the shot. Seven minutes later, freshman Kevin Gomez would quickly restart play off a free kick, catching Monroe unprepared. Andres Javitt got behind the defense and crossed the ball in. Monroe scrambled to clear the ball before it fell to the feet of MC midfielder Ethan Lane. Lane uncorked a fierce shot to the near post and beat the Mustang's keeper to put the Raptor's up 1-0. The Raptors defense would continue to repel the Mustangs and go into halftme with the lead. 

After the break, Monroe pushed for the equalizer, maintaing possession and peppering the Raptor's goal with four shots in the first twelve minutes of the half. Mauro continued to deny the Mustangs' shots from range. The Raptor's defense stayed compact and looked for opportunities to counter. In the 70th minute, sophomore striker Amadou Gaye muscled the Mustang's centerback off a 50/50 ball and found himself behind the defense. Driving into the box, Gaye was pushed wide before firing a shot that hit the far post. The ball bounced into the path of Andres Javitt, who put his shot away for a 2-0 lead. 

Just three minutes later, Javitt would extend the lead. Kevin Gomez unlocked the Mustang's defense with a delicate chip for Javitt over the Mustang's back line. Javitt and the Mustang's goalkeeper rushed to meet the ball, with Javitt winning by  step to head the ball around the keeper and finish into an empty net. The Raptors were up 3-0 with twenty minutes to play. 

Monroe pushed to get back into the game, but the Raptors stayed firm in the back. In the 85th minute, the Mustangs collected a goal, but it was too little, too late. The Raptors closed out the game 3-1 to claim the program's first Division I District title. The win over the top ranked team in the nation provided the Raptor's an automatic berth into the national championship series. The Raptors will learn on Tuesday who they will face before heading to Florida this coming weekend for the tournament. 

Raptor Bites

• Javitt's two goals brought his season total to 21, returning him to the lead in goals scored nationwide.
• Goalkeeper Thomas Mauro made 13 saves in the win.
• The Raptors will make their first NJCAA Division I national championship appearance since 1990. The program spent most of the 2000s as a DIII side, appearing in the NJCAA DIII national championship tournament in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.