Men's Soccer Falls 2-1 in Season Opener
Basheer scores, Ten Scots make their college debuts
MONMOUTH, Ill. (09/03/2026) — The Monmouth College men's soccer team dropped their season opener 2-1 at Blackburn on Thursday afternoon. The Fighting Scots return to action on Friday with the home opener against UW-Whitewater at 2:30 p.m.
Neither team had many chances early on but the Beavers converted a penalty kick midway through the first half for a 1-0 lead. With less than two minutes to play in the half, Blackburn scored on a free kick from just outside the box. Freshman goalkeeper Calvin Cotton (Hernando, Mississippi) got a hand to the ball but was unable to prevent the goal. He hit the post on the play and sophomore newcomer Tyce Alumbaugh (Bement, Illinois) made his debut, finishing out the half in net.
The Scots put pressure on Blackburn throughout the second half and Cotton returned to action to make multiple saves. Midway through the half, Monmouth scored their first goal of the season. Cohen Ledet (Maurice, Louisiana) took the ball down the right side and sent a low cross into the box, past the Beavers keeper and defender. Freshman Mubaraq Basheer (Katy, Texas) slotted the ball into the net for his first collegiate goal. The Scots had a chance to tie late but the Beavers keeper made a handful of saves and a shout for a penalty was denied.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Ten players made their Monmouth debut in the heat on Thursday ... Alumbaugh, Basheer, Gabe Cadet (Wilmette, Illinois), Nehemiah Coleman (Portland, Oregon). Cotton, Kolbe Hightower (Abingdon, Illinois), Eli Okrasinski (Charleston, Illinois), Tyler Ramsey (East Peoria, Illinois), Christian Romero-Marin (El Paso, Texas) and Tony Zazueta (Haslet, Texas) all saw their first collegiate action ... Cadet, Coleman, Cotton and Romero-Marin all started .... Romero-Marin had to leave with a foot injury during the game ... The Scots used 21 players overall ... Bryan Corona (El Paso, Texas) and Ryan Rodriguez-Gardea (El Paso, Texas) had shots on goal in the first half ... The teams had not met since 2001, a Blackburn win ... The Beavers lead the all-time series 5-4 ... Monmouth hosts Wisconsin-Whitewater at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the home opener before playing at Eureka on Sunday at 2 p.m.