A Recap of 2019 Ahead of FC Monmouth's Return to Play

FC Monmouth’s third season was supposed to get underway this time last year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 National Premier Soccer League season was cancelled. Due to the year-long gap in between seasons, here is a quick refresher on what happened during the 2019 season, in preparation for this weekend’s season opener:

The club opened the 2019 season with a 2-0 victory over New Jersey Copa FC, a game which continued their home unbeaten streak from their inaugural 2018 campaign. In that contest, they did not allow a single shot on target. A few days later, New Jersey Copa FC got their revenge, defeating FC Monmouth 5-1 in the return game of their home-and-home series.

For the second consecutive season, FC Monmouth and Atlantic City FC experienced a weather delayed game. In 2019, the two sides had to endure a three-hour delay, and when play finally resumed, FC Monmouth was able to secure a 1-0 victory.

Their fourth game of the season kicked off a four-game stretch against Pennsylvania opponents. After a 1-1 draw against Philadelphia Lone Star FC, the team rattled off three-straight wins against Hershey FC, Electric City Shock, and Torch FC. In all three games, they scored three goals, recorded at least 16 shots, and held opponents to four or less shots on target. Following the win against Torch FC, FC Monmouth was atop the Keystone Conference standings for the first time in team history.

FC Monmouth fell to FC Motown and Atlantic City FC in their final two games at home, snapping the club’s streak of eight unbeaten home games to begin its history. In the final week of the regular season, they fell to West Chester United in a “win and you’re in” scenario, finishing fifth in the conference.

Despite missing the playoffs, the 2019 season saw a lot of milestones and records. It marked the second time in as many seasons that FC Monmouth won at least five games. The 2019 team set a club record for shots in a game (29) as well as most for a half (16). During their hot start, they had a stretch where they did not trail in a game for 364 minutes spanning five games.

Defensively, they held an opponent to zero shots on target for the first time ever, and held opponents to five or fewer shots on target in six of their first seven games.

In terms of individual records, forward Regsan Watkins became the team’s all-time leading goal scorer with seven, and forward Brian Hawkins set the new all-time assist total at four. Defender Dylan McDonald became the first player in club history to play in every single minute of a season, while accumulating the most for a single season with 878.

The 2021 FC Monmouth season will get underway at Count Basie Park this Saturday, May 8, at 6:00 p.m. Click here for ticket information, and make sure to follow all of FC Monmouth’s social media accounts to get updates, statistics, video, and more during the season.