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2019 NJCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship November 18-23 | Orlando Health Stadium | Melbourne, FL

Tyler takes home the DI crown in rematch of 2018 final

Tyler came into the final of the 2019 NJCAA DI Women's Soccer Championship with one goal in mind: avenging last year's 3-1 loss to Monroe.

The Apaches did just that, utilizing an advantage in numbers for the final 38 minutes to claim the 4-1 victory over Monroe – ending the Mustangs' 31-match unbeaten streak dating back to the end of the 2017 season.

It's the fourth women's soccer title in program history for Tyler, a program that will close out a dominant decade with seven national championship game appearances since 2009.

Tyler's sensational Mukarama Abdulai provided the necessary goals for the Apaches in the championship game. An opening 8th-minute goal coupled with the eventual game-winner in the 57th capped off an amazing week for the sophomore forward.

POOL PLAY STORYLINES

Monroe escaped Pool A by edging out Laramie County 3-2 in the final game. The Mustangs had to erase an early 1-0 second half deficit and then hold off a late Golden Eagles charge.
Eastern Florida State had a more comfortable path to the semifinal round. The Titans won Pool B with a +9 scoring margin, topping CCBC Essex 5-0 before knocking off Gillette in a de-facto quarterfinal, 4-1.
Tyler got past Snow with a narrow 3-2 scoreline to advance to win Pool C and advance to the semifinal round for the fourth consecutive year.
To little surprise, Pool D provided the most drama in this year's tournament. Hill topped Lewis & Clark in overtime, leading to an even 1-1 record for each team. Thanks to an 89th-minute goal from the NJCAA's leading goal-scorer Boitumelo Rabale, the Trailblazers advanced on goals scored tiebreaker, becoming the first team to advance out of pool play with a loss since the current structure was implemented in 2012.

With all four top seeds making it out of the pool play stage, it set up a pair of monumental matches in the semifinal round.

Monroe was able to take down an injury-plagued Lewis & Clark team in the the first semifinal, but not without a fight from the Trailblazers. After leading 2-0 at halftime, Monroe allowed two goals from Lewis & Clark within the 61st-minute to pull level. Two goals in the 73rd and 74th-minute would ultimately put the game to bed, however Lewis & Clark's Boitumelo Rabale added one more goal to her nation-leading season tally.

Tyler largely controlled the the second semifinal against Eastern Florida State. However, it was game-on when the Titans' Aida Illas found a 63rd-minute equalizer. Mukarama Abdulai provided her second 15 minutes later and the Apaches secured their fourth straight trip to the national championship game.

WELCOME TO THE BIG STAGE

Four of the teams in this year's national tournament field were making their first appearance in program history.

Both Seminole State and Snow made it to the tournament for the first time in school history. Snow qualified by winning the West District championship whereas Seminole State entered as an unbeaten at-large team, having fallen to Hill in penalties in the Plains final.
Gillette was also a first-time participant. Just four years into the program's existence, the Pronghorns didn't have an easy road to their automatic qualification. Gillette topped previously unbeaten and eventual at-large team Laramie County along with Iowa Western – both teams that were in 2018's field – to secure the trip to Florida. CCBC Essex is also notable: although having six previous trips in the book, the Knights made their first appearance since 1995.
Hill also made its first appearance and collected its first national tournament victory in this year's edition of the tournament. The Lady Rebels fell in their opener, but were able to pull off a win in their closing game to record the first national tournament victory in program history.

ELITE GOAL SCORERS HEADLINE TOURNEY

Boitumelo Rabale recorded five goals and an assist in her three appearances in Florida. That improved her season to an NJCAA-best 57 goals and 33 assists.
CCBC Essex had a high-powered forward, too. Kara Dietrich finishes the year with the NJCAA's second-best mark of 52 goals scored.

TOURNAMENT AWARDS

A trio of players from each side in the final received recognition on the All-Tournament Team.

Recording three consecutive braces to close out the tournament, Mukarama Abdulai was selected as the Most Valuable Offensive Player. Teammate Marta Estupinan collected the honor of Most Valuable Defensive Player.

Guiding the Apaches to their fourth title in school history, Corey Rose earned the Coach of the Tournament award.

Seminole State collected the tournament's Sportsmanship Award in the program's first appearance.
The 2019 tournament served as the Swan Song for Laramie County head coach Jim Gardner. Announcing his eventual retirement at the beginning of the campaign, his Golden Eagles team made it through the regular season unbeaten – eventually finishing with a record of 15-2-2. That puts Gardner's final overall record at 250-70-28 across 18 seasons.
2019 NJCAA DI Women's Soccer Championship Photo Gallery