As each round of the playoffs passed, the opposition paid more attention to Erick Hungria, James Monroe’s talented striker. After he was held without a goal or an assist in the quarterfinal round, coach Carl Campbell realized if the Eagles were going to reach the PSAL Class B final, they would need other options to emerge.
Chris Mboungou accepted the responsibility.
The senior scored twice – his first two postseason goals – to life No. 9 Monroe past fourth-seeded Millennium, 3-2, in overtime on Randall’s Island Thursday morning. The Eagles face No. 7 Hunter College HS in Sunday’s final at St. John’s University in Queens at 11:30 a.m.
“He’s coming on at the right time,” Campbell said. “Erick has been carrying the team the whole season. When I spoke to the team I said somebody has to step up and he did today.”
In the fourth minute of the second golden goal overtime Mboungou got to a loose ball following Hungria’s corner kick and drilled it through traffic. He immediately took off, sprinting away from teammates with his jersey over his head.
“I’m so excited I forgot everything,” he said. “Last year we made it far, but we didn’t get to the final. I felt that wasn’t good enough.”
After a quiet first half in which Millennium led 1-0, Monroe (15-2-1) responded with a fury, scoring a pair of goals in the in the opening 20 minutes of the second half. Mboungou struck first on a header three minutes after halftime and Hungria got to his own rebound 17 minutes later.
“We just came out with energy,” Hungria said. “We made it so far it’s not fair to us to lose.”
Millennium (15-1-2) answered as Bjorn Nilsen squeezed through a tally in a scrum in front of the net. Goalkeeper Cristhian Delgado had to leave after the play, his right hand badly injured. Without their backup, Monroe had to go deep in its bench to find a replacement, but the field player wasn’t asked to make any saves. Mboungou did the heavy lifting, sending Monroe to the title game.
“I’m elated,” Campbell said. “I’m happy for myself but I’m more happy for these kids because they work so hard.”
No. 7 Hunter College HS 2, No. 6 Prospect Heights 0: Emmett Kim and Tyler Manning each scored once in the second half and goalkeeper Drew Adler made six saves as the Hawks punched their first ticket to the PSAL Class B title game.
“The thing is the kids started listening to each other and playing as a team,” said first-year coach Asumana Randolph, who has worked at Hunter College for 18 years and previously coached the middle school team. “The seniors started with the younger kids, helping them get better. … The whole school is excited and I’m excited for the kids.”