BROCKTON, Mass. ---- After a thrilling double-overtime victory against Dean College last Saturday for the Region 21 Championship, the Massasoit CC men's soccer team has a new challenge to take on. The Warriors return to the NJCAA Northeast District Tournament, hosted by Mercer County CC in Trenton, N.J., this weekend, slated to play Monroe CC at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Massasoit (12-5) and Monroe CC (10-5-1) will play the second game of the Northeast District Semifinal games, with host No. 2 Mercer County (18-0-2) and ASA College (NY) (7-6-2) facing off at 10 a.m. in the first game on Saturday.
The winner of each semifinal contest will face off in the district championship on Sunday at 11 a.m.
MASSASOIT vs. MONROE CC
The Warriors and Tribunes will face off for the second time this season, as Monroe CC captured an impressive 4-3 comeback victory in overtime back on Sept. 12 in Brockton.
Massasoit led 3-0 in the first half, but Monroe CC scored a goal in the final minute of the opening stanza and eventually tied the game in the second half, sending the match to overtime. In OT, the Tribunes netted a goal in the 98th minute to claim the victory. Marquis Pitt scored the game-winner for the Tribunes, and finished with two goals for the contest. Vangjel Kutulla (Norwood) netted a pair of goals and Andrew Revanales (Trinidad/Sharon HS) scored the other in the loss.
ON MASSASOIT
Massasoit had a rough start to the season, sitting at 2-4, after a tough 5-1 loss to Monroe College on Sept. 19. Since then, the Warriors have played at a blistering pace, posting a 10-1 record over that span and outscoring the opposition 60-11.
For the season, Massasoit is averaging a robust 4.6 goals per contest and allowing 1.62.
Revanales has been a catalyst on offense, along with fellow forward Sidney Cardoso (Portugal). Revanales has totaled a team-best 54 points, 20 goals and 14 assists, while Cardoso has 16 goals and seven assists for the year. They each scored a pair of goals in the 4-3 double-overtime upset of nationally ranked and previously unbeaten Dean College. Revanales scored the game winner with 52 seconds left in the second overtime.
Massasoit fell to Monroe College in the Northeast District Championship last year, 2-1, which was hosted at Massasoit.
ON MONROE CC
The Tribunes enter the districts winners of three straight, including a 5-0 victory against Mercyhurst North East in the Region 3 Finals.
As a team, Monroe CC is averaging 3.4 goals per game and allowing 1.51 and has outscored the opposition 18-1 over the last three matches.
The top scorer for the Tribunes is Darren Gordon, as the freshman has netted 10 goals and dished out six assists.
OTHER SEMIFINAL MATCHUP
Prior to Massasoit and Monroe CC battling, nationally ranked Mercer County will take on ASA College (NY).
Mercer County is ranked No. 2 in the most recent NJCAA poll and has yet to lose a game, sporting an impressive record of 18-0-2. The Vikings are scoring 4.6 goals and allowing 0.79 per game and defeated Rowan Burlington for the Region 19 Championship.
Massasoit played at Mercer County in the second game of the season, falling 6-0.
ASA (NY) sprung an upset in the Region 15 Championship over nationally ranked Monroe College. ASA had lost four matches prior to defeating Globe Institute in the regional semifinals and Monroe in the finals.
The last meeting for Massasoit against ASA came on Nov. 9, 2013, when the Avengers defeated the Warriors in penalty kicks at the Northeast District Semifinals in Syracuse, N.Y.
NJCAA NATIONALS
At the NJCAA Division I soccer level, each year the districts rotate the number of teams that are sent to NJCAA National Tournament. Every other year both teams that make the district finals get to compete for a National Championship. The 2015 season marks a year that the Northeast District will send two colleges to Nationals.
Nationals are held in Martinsville, Va., from Nov. 16-21, hosted by Patrick Henry CC.
Massasoit is in search of competing at the NJCAA Nationals for the first time since 1995. In program history, the Warriors have participated at the Nationals 14 times, including 11 of 12 seasons from 1984 to 1995, and claiming back-to-back National Championships in 1986 and 1987.