The Monmouth University men's soccer team, the two-time defending Northeast Conference Tournament and six-time defending Regular Season Champions, is preparing to travel to South Africa on Thursday, May 19, for a trip of sightseeing and friendly matches. The ten-day excursion begins when the team arrives in Cape Town, South Africa and then returns home on Monday, May 30.
“This opportunity for our men's soccer team is truly an once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Marilyn McNeil. “It will be a 'short but indelible course' in geography and history. South Africa burst on the national sport scene when they hosted a wonderful World Cup, and what better way to celebrate that coaching fraternity then to have our soccer team experience the South African passion for their sport. We will also be able to give back through some meaningful community service and learn to continue to strive for global understandings or our cultures.”
The team and coaching staff will spend time in Cape Town and Johannesburg and attend a Premier Soccer League (PSL) match between Ajax Cape Town vs. Maritzburg United, with the league championship potentially on the line.
“We are very excited about this opportunity,” said MU head coach Robert McCourt. “We play some quality games and also get to have an experience of a lifetime in South Africa. Our community outreach interaction with the economically disadvantaged kids will have a big impact on our players. The clinics we do for them will be a wonderful chance for our program to give back to the game. Visits to Robbin Island, Football for Hope, Grassroots Soccer, and the Apartheid Museum all round out an amazing trip.”
The team will also visit Drankenstein Prison, where Nelson Mandela was held and visit his cell, and play a match against the Drankenstein soccer team.
Check back here to www.GoMUHawks.com, as well as the Monmouth Athletics YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/monmouthhawks, for recaps and videos of the Hawks trip across the Atlantic Ocean.
