ASA Avengers Men's Soccer Wins 2-1 vs Region Rivals and #3 Ranked Team in NJCAA, Monroe Mustangs

Brooklyn, NY – The ASA Avengers Men's Soccer Teams Plays regional rivals and the #3 ranked team in the NJCAA, Monroe Mustangs, at home in Aviator Sports Complex.

The game started off with the Monroe Mustangs going for an aggressive start. "We were a little nervous coming into the game, "said men's soccer head coach Brett Polow. "This was the first time a lot of the guys are playing together especially in the back and with the goalkeeper," said Polow. Around ten minutes into the half, the Avengers defense made a mistake and they made an own goal. Once the players started settling into the half, the Avengers started to control some of the plays. "In the first half, we were sitting back and we let them dictate the play while we tried to counter. We still had three really good chances to score."

In the second half, the Avengers decided to be the ones to dictate the play of the game. "We changed our plan during the second half and we had most of the momentum, we attacked and they countered, said Polow. For the Avenger's forth chance, to score, they finally got a goal. The goal was a combination play from the center back to the right back. The right back, Manzoor Amiri, saw a gap and the center midfielder, Deandre Gordon scored to tie the game 1 a piece.

After the goal, the momentum slowly started going towards the Monroe Mustangs again. "Our guys did a good job of holding in defensively and keeping the lines connected. We didn't give them too many openings. I thought our goalie relaxed a bit and had a much better second half," said Polow. Slowly, that gave the Avengers another opportunity 80 minutes into the game. This time, it was a combination play from Joshua Hernandez and Darrian Chambers to Deandre Gordon, where he scored the Avengers second goal of the game. "The ball was pressed into their half, we won possession of the ball, and Deandre scored."

The Mustangs tried to aggressively tie the game, but the defense sat in and defended well, to end the game 2-1 Avengers. "Our players were tough, smart, didn't allow too many mistakes in the back, and we held each other accountable," said Polow. "It was an overall solid team effort. We just need to continue building team chemistry, play together, and if our guys made the commitment the next 2-3 weeks, we're going to go far."

The ASA Avengers plays their next game vs University of Maine – Fort Kent, at home in Aviator Sports Complex on October 16th, 2018 11 am.