MIDDLESEX COLLEGE MENS AND WOMENS SOCCER QUALIFY FOR NJCAA REGION XIX PLAYOFFS
The Middlesex College Men's and Women's Soccer teams both learned their playoff fate as both programs have qualified for postseason play.
The men were granted the #3 seed after finishing the regular season 11-3-1 and will host Brookdale Community College in a first-round home matchup. Game time is set for 12:00PM this Saturday October 22 at Thomas Edison Park.
The women gained the #5 seed and will travel to take on #2 Brookdale as well.
Led by Head Coach Javier Velasco, the men's team has gained national recognition throughout the season and has received votes in the NJCAA Division III Men's Soccer National Poll for each of the past six weeks. The highest ranking the Colts received this year was #7 in the country.
Middlesex has a 4-2 road win over #2 seed Camden on their resume and held a 2-0 second-half lead over top-seeded Bergen before falling 3-2.
The Colts also topped Ocean County College in a pivotal early-season road matchup at a time when Ocean was ranked in the top 10 national poll.
Jamie Madrid (Sophomore/Perth Amoby, NJ) led the Colts with 11 goals, seven assists and 29 points as one of the most feared strikers in the region. Jayden Odum (Freshman/Piscataway, NJ) was second on the team with six goals and 13 points.
Sophomores Jeremy Madrid (Perth Amboy, NJ) and Jayson Vassallo (South River, NJ) split time in goal this season for the Colts. Vassallo served as the main keeper before suffering an injury against Bergen CC. Madrid has filled in admirably whether he has started or came on in relief. Vassallo has a 1.15 Goals Against Average in 11 games and Madrid has a 0.97 GAA in 10 games.
On the women's side, Head Coach Adrienne Giordano led the Colts to a tremendous turnaround, reviving a program that has struggled for years. After on fielding a team in 2019 or 2020, Giordano took over the Colts last season and registered the program's first win since 2018 in a rebuilding year.
This year, the Colts won five games and enjoyed a five-game unbeaten streak in the middle of the season. Middlesex also had two one-goal losses to traditional powers Brookdale and RCSJ-Gloucester on their schedule.
The Colts were led by one of the top goal scorers in the country, Kimberlie Suffrant (Sophomore/Irvington, NJ) who scored 12 goals in 12 games. Her 12 goals were the fourth-highest total in Region XIX and 13th in the nation.
Akylah Hawkins (Freshman/North Brunswick, NJ) was second on the team with four goals. Hawkins and Megan O'Grady (Sophomore/Monroe, NJ) tied for the team lead with three assists each.
Rania Alaboura (Sophomore/Edison, NJ) played every minute of every game in goal for the Colts and had a 2.40 Goals Against Average this season, nearly a two-goal improvement from her freshman season.