WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – In its first action in 498 days, the Monmouth University men's soccer team defeated Manhattan, 5-0.
 
Five different players scored for the Hawks, including senior Anes Mrkulic (Highlands, NJ/Gill St. Bernard's), sophomore Griffin Tomas (Seymour, CT/Seymour), redshirt junior Alex Hajj (Wayne, PA/YSC Academy), junior Liam McGregor (Middletown, NJ/Middletown North), and junior Robin Oswald (Bavaria, Germany/Maristen-Gymnasium Furth).
 
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Sean Murray earned his fourth career shutout, stopping five total shots.
 
Monmouth improves to 1-0 (1-0 MAAC) on the season, and will travel to Iona this Sunday.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"It felt really good for us to get a game at our home field after such a long layoff. The boys have been working really hard, and that hard work earned us our result today." – Monmouth head coach Robert McCourt
 
-In the 19^th minute, Monmouth earned a corner kick. Senior George Akampeke got a head on the initial ball, and Mrkulic eventually scored on a back-heel.
-Manhattan nearly found the equalizer early in the second half, but Murray made a diving save to keep the clean sheet.
-Tomas found space in the 63^rd minute and gave Monmouth a 2-0 lead with a left-footed strike from well beyond the 18.
-Less than five minutes later, Hajj took a pass from Oswald, dribbled up the middle and unleashed a rocket from 35 yards out.
-In the 81^st minute, McBeth headed a ball to McGregor, who made it 4-0 with another tally.
-Oswald put the finishing touches on the win with a goal in the 86^th minute. After a Manhattan hand ball, he quickly fired a shot that caught the road team off guard.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Mrkulic scored his fourth career goal, while Akampeke picked up his fourth career assist.
-Tomas, Hajj, and Oswald all scored their first career goals.
-McGregor notched the third goal of his career, all within the last six games dating back to 2019.
-McBeth and Oswald each registered their first assists in a Monmouth uniform.
-Murray allowed no goals in the full 90 minutes, while stopping five attempts.
-Monmouth outshot Manhattan 14-7, including 8-5 on goal.
-Each team earned seven corner kicks.
-Bastian Hatcher, Christoffer Jensen, Luke McBeth, Jonas Lindner, and Nick Rogers all made their Monmouth debuts.
 
UP NEXT
Monmouth will travel to Iona on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM.