FOLEY, Ala., November 12, 2018 – After nearly 95 minutes of scoreless soccer and the Mustangs playing one woman down, Angie Ponce chipped one past the keeper and into the net, giving the No. 2-seeded Monroe College women's soccer team a 1-0 victory over No. 11 seed Butler Community College in the Pool B opener at the NJCAA Div. I Women's Soccer Championships at the Foley Sports Complex. The Mustangs earn a crucial three points to start their week.
 
Butler's goalkeeper held the ball after the Mustangs had a chance a few minutes into the extra period. She tried to punt the ball, but the wind did not allow it to get very far, as the Mustangs took the ball back again. Yolanda Albalat was looking to set up a play, and took the ball toward the middle of the box, drawing three defenders with her and leaving Ponce open in the left side of the box. She led Ponce toward the goal line, where she fired toward the net, off a defender's leg, and inside the left post and past the goalie, giving the Mustangs a dramatic victory.
 
No amount of credit could be enough for goalkeeper Marta Alemany, who only made five saves, but made every single one of them count en route to her 13th victory of the year. Butler netminder Bethany Reeves also had a stellar game, stopping seven shots before the Mustangs were finally able to get one past her.
 
Maria Santin had the first scoring opportunity of the game for the Mustangs in the eighth minute. She received a cross at the top of the box and fired it toward the keeper, but Butler's Bethany Reeves made the stop to keep Monroe off the board.
 
The Grizzlies had a strong chance with a free kick right outside the box in the 13th minute. Elise Leidersten took the opportunity, but she fired it high and over the net. Caro Limon had another chance for the Grizzlies in the 16th minute, but Marta Alemany was able to make the stop.
 
After Mayara Queiroz Reis nearly had another chance for Monroe, Butler took it the other way, and Leidersten was one-on-one with Alemany, but the Mustang goalkeeper got a hand on it and sent the shot wide and out of bounds.
 
The Mustangs tried to recreate one of their most impressive goals from the Northeast District Championships when Alba Gonzalez received a pass off a corner kick. From the far right wing, she sent a long cross off her left foot toward the far left corner of the, where she found Albalat, but just a little bit too far from the post, where she fired just wide of the net in the 25th minute.
 
The Mustangs held an 11-4 advantage in shots, as well as a 6-2 lead in shots on goal in the first half, but the game went into the break with a 0-0 stalemate.
 
With just about 25 minutes left in the second half, the Mustangs had arguably their best opportunity of the day to that point. After a number of great touch passes inside the box, Santin maneuvered around a few defenders, tapped it to Juliana Pires, who missed just high on a contested shot from in close.
 
Alemany stopped a strong opportunity for Butler, who then had a corner-kick opportunity. The kick landed near the right corner of the net, where Alemany made another big stop, but another shot on the goal that would have gone in was stopped with a hand ball by Anya Donelan. Donelan received a red card for the play, which also resulted in a penalty kick. Amazingly, Alemany made an incredible stop on the penalty kick, keeping the game scoreless with 20 minutes to play in the second half, but the Mustangs had to play the rest of the game a woman down.
 
The Mustangs came on strong in the final minutes with a number of scoring opportunities, but a couple close chances were either well defended or resulted in narrow misses. Butler was called for a crucial offsides with under a minute to play on an opportunity that would have resulted in a goal, but the Mustangs caught a break after what appeared to be a very good call by the officials. A fitting outcome after a very evenly played 90 minutes, the game went to overtime with a 0-0 score.
 
The Mustangs had an immediate opportunity in the first minute of overtime when Santin got in close. She fired toward the net, but it was blocked by a defender. This resulted in back-to-back corner kicks for Monroe, the second of which led to another chance for Albalat, but this, too, was blocked. Just three minutes later, Albalat was able to set up Ponce for the game-winner to end the game at the 94:28 mark.
 
The Mustangs had a stronghold on time of possession in this one, managing to fire off 23 shots while holding the Grizzlies to eight. The Mustangs also earned eight corner kicks, while Butler attempted just two.
 
The Mustangs will play next on Wednesday, Nov. 14, when they challenge No. 7 Lewis & Clark Community College to close out Pool B play. The game is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. EST. Lewis & Clark will first take on Butler on Tuesday with another important three points up for grabs.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 27 teams competing across nine sports. There are 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus as of the fall of 2017, has seven teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe College Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).