Monmouth Men’s soccer dropped their season finale against Drexel on Vidas Field this past Saturday.
The Hawks traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Drexel Dragons for the second time this season, with a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Dragons were quick to put pressure on the Hawks’ defense, firing off three shots within the first five minutes. Only one made it past Monmouth’s starting goalkeeper, sophomore Herman Johnsen. The shot came off the foot of Drexel freshman midfielder Daniel Frye.
Monmouth’s offense remained quiet until the 13th minute, when senior defender Raul Garcia forced a save toward the bottom left side of the goal from Drexel’s fifth-year goalkeeper, Raphael Bartell.
The Hawks collected two more shots in the first half. The first came from freshman midfielder Jessy Bichler in the 17th minute, followed by another attempt from Garcia 20 minutes later. Drexel added three more shots throughout the half, but neither team could find the back of the net, sending the game into halftime scoreless.
In the first 20 minutes of the second half, both teams had chances that they could not connect.
Coming out strong again, the Dragons fired a shot just high of the goal just eight seconds into the half. The shot came from senior midfielder Tiago Lima-Bittencourt. They added three more shots, two of which were on goal and saved by Johnsen.
Monmouth managed two shots in the same amount of time. The first came off the foot of freshman midfielder Marco Li Vigni in the 67th minute. The second came from senior forward Andrea Croce in the 84th minute.
About 90 seconds later, Drexel found the back of the goal. Assisted by fifth year forward Christian Combs and sophomore midfielder Daniel Celso, Frye beat Johnsen to put the Dragons up 1-0 late in the game.
Less than 30 seconds after their first, Drexel added their second and final goal of the afternoon. Sophomore midfielder Gianluca Grubic scored the goal and was assisted by fifth year forward Ben Weller and Combs.
The Hawks could not get another offensive push going in the final minutes, and the game ended with a final score of 2-0 in favor of the Dragons. Johnsen’s three saves made it his tenth outing with at least three saves this year.
With their young core and roster, Monmouth finished their 2026 season with an overall record of 3-8-3 and a conference record of 1-4-3.
