On Monday afternoon, the Monmouth University Men’s Soccer team (5-2-1) drew Bowling Green (7-4-1) during the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship Selection Show.
Monmouth, along with 35 other teams has been selected to play in a single-elimination tournament for this year’s College Cup.
After winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship this past Saturday against No. 1 seed, Quinnipiac, 1-0, the Hawks earned an automatic bid. The major contributor to that win was sophomore forward, Julian Gomez, who in the 86th minute scored the game-winning goal off a header from sophomore midfielder, Nick Rogers. In his rookie season in 2019, Gomez led the team with three assists and played a season high of 87 minutes in a tie at Rider.
Currently, the Hawks are on a solid four-game winning streak, which have come from all away games. The Hawks defeated #3 Niagara 4-3 in overtime during the regular season and again in the MAAC Conference Championships 2-1. They then defeated #2 Rider 2-0 and #1 Quinnipiac 1-0.
As for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament, this will be Monmouth’s first time playing in it since 2014 where the Hawks fell to #14 Xavier 2-1, in a double overtime game. In 2011, Monmouth advanced to the second round following their victory over Stony Brook on penalty kicks.
Looking ahead, the College Cup game is set to take place on Thursday, April 29 at 6:00 p.m. at Bryan Park in Greensboro, North Carolina.
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth Athletics
