On Wednesday Nov.2, Sam De Amorim of North Andover, Johnathan Diaz of Methuen and Fadi Serhan of Middletown were named NJCAA Region 21 All-Region by the region 21 soccer committee.

According to neccknights.com De Amorim lead Region 21 in both categories in goals and in points. Diaz’s eight assists during the season was second in Region 21 and Serhan was part of a second team for the second straight season.

De Amorim was named first team All-Region. He mentioned to me that he was really hyped when he got the phone call from NECC Soccer head coach, Coach Eusebio Marote “I know that is a really big achievement and getting nominated all region first team as a rookie made me really happy,”  De Amorim said.

De Amorim was surprised for his recognition of getting this achievement since there is a lot of good talented players in this region.

He is currently majoring in IT.

His family member were really happy for him since they know how hard he works and was proud of him as well.

I asked him if he wants to play soccer professionally and for long he was playing ?

“Yeah, this is what I want to do professionally and hopefully I can get to that and I have been playing soccer since I was a little kid,” De Amorim said.

Diaz was named second team All-Region “My reaction was I was satisfies, nothing more nothing less. Coach actually told me, he called me. I was expecting first team but you know you take what you can get just work harder for next season,” he said.

He was kind of surprised winning All-Region, he told me.

Diaz is currently majoring in Accounting.

His family member told him when he got recognized for this achievement “just work harder, you happy that you got the recognition but you just go out there and work harder,” he said.

I asked him if this is what he wants to do professionally. “I have been playing soccer since I was five and yeah if the opportunity rises I am more than happy to play professionally you got to put in the hard work first,” he said.

He also said that this recognition is a motivation for next season.

Serhan was named second team All-Region “I found out online but like at the same time the only way I made it is because of the team, we put an effort and we made it. I didn’t care if I made it in the second team I care about being there for the team…,” he said.

He told me that he had it coming getting All-Region recognition that it wasn’t a big deal for him. He wasn’t surprised, he was expecting it.

He currently majoring in computer engineering.

His family was surprised of Serhan’s achievements he told me.

He has been playing since he was seven and he wants to play professional.

On  Sunday Nov. 27, the Knights soccer team got together to play futsal. Futsal is a soccer game that you played indoor rather then outdoor and the court is smaller.

It was the first time that the whole soccer team reunited since their season ended last month in the quarterfinals. I had a chance to interview Sam De Amorim who won NJCAA Men’s Soccer Player of the Week the week from Oct. 17 through the 23.

According to neccknights.com De Amorim had 11 shots, eight of them were shot on goals, five goals and one assist.

I asked him if that did not surprise him winning the award after a phenomenal week that he had.

“It did I am not going to lie,” De Amorim said. “Even though I know that I played really good that week. We have a really good players in the whole conference and everything so me winning player of the week was pretty not surprising but it was remarkable for me. I was really happy for that,” he said.

I asked him what does he have to do for next year to build on that success so he can succeed in this sport?

“I am going to still be practicing a lot, I’m putting in the work in the off season right now and hopefully I can double the amount of goals that I had for this season so hopefully I get another All-Region next year and Player of the Week too,” he said.

I asked him how he feels about winning this achievement so other colleges and universities can check on his resume ?

“I feel honored to be honest,” he said. “I put in a lot of work in the season to get that so that help me a lot and I am really honored because of that,” he said.

He told me that NECC Soccer head coach, Coach Eusebio Marote told him about the news that he won player of the week via text.

All of his friends and family were happy for him and were  proud of him for winning this achievement.

On Sunday, Nov. 27, NECC Knights defeated Suffolk County Community College 82 to 64 on the second day of the NECC TD Bank Turkey Classic.

Before the game I asked NECC Basketball head coach, coach Darren Stratton if there is a little bit of pressure that the only loss the Knights have this season is against this Suffolk team?

“ I enjoy pressure,” he said. “I look at pressure as a different way that normal coaches will. I think pressure is when you can’t afford food on your table for your family or something, pressure in a basketball game is an opportunity. I think pressure is a good thing I think if you are focused and keep working in every aspect of the game I don’t think there is any pressure on you unless if you trust on your talent and you ability to perform.”

The Knights begin the game on a 14-4 run against Suffolk.

Suffolk answered back going on a 9-3 run.

The game was 17 to 13 in favor of the Knights.

Kevin Monteiro scored a two pointer to make this 19 to 13.

Joshua Fenner of Huntington, New York scored the next two three pointers for Suffolk to tie the game at 19.

“Yeah, we (are) still working on consistency. Like today it was a little different, we are out with two key players, we’re out with Ryan Pacy this whole weekend. Then we were out with Philip (Cunningham) today that’s another key player. We’re trying to find the right rotation the right guys doing the right things. You know is a challenge for us but you know we talk earlier on (assistant) coach (Nick) Nofi mentioned early that this probably is the deepest team that he been able involved with and the deepest actually shows today in our depth,” Stratton said.

Cristian Kinsley of Lawrence shots a three pointer to put the Knights on top that started a 7-0 run for the Knights.

The Knights was up 26 to 21 when Tre Fite of Massillon, Ohio, knock down a two pointer.

Fast forward later on in the first period the Knights deficit was cut to five as the Knights was up 30 to 25.

Metin Yavuz of Istanbul, Turkey banged in a three pointer to increase the Knights lead to eight.

The Knights led Suffolk 41 to 32 after the first period.

After Suffolk scored a three pointer to get things started in the second period Edwin SamMbaka of Paris, France followed with a two pointer.

Joshua Blair of Shirley, New York, knocked down a two pointer to put this game 45 to 37 in favor of the Knights.

Kinsley knocked down a three pointer as the Knights had a 11 point lead over Suffolk.

Mehmet “R2” Asik scored a two pointer and has one chance for a three point play.

Fast Forward during the period the Knights had a 16 point lead, that lead was cut to nine but not before Angel Herrera knocked down a three to make this 58 to 44 ball game.

Fenner knocked down a three to make this a nine run game.

The game was 60 to 49 when SamMbaka made a two pointer and a foul for a chance for a three point play.

SamMbaka missed but the Knights got the rebound. It was foul on Reynoso as Reynoso went in the free throw line.

The Knights were up 67 to 49 when Reynoso stole the ball as he ran to the basket to make it a 20 point game.

Reynoso scored the next three buckets for two pointers by attacking the glass as the Knights were up by 25, the largest lead for the Knight was 26 in this entire game.

At the final six minutes of the game that’s when both teams started to foul each other including three players of Suffolk who got fouled out.

After the game I interviewed Ashton Ventola of Danville, New Hampshire and asked him how important is knowing he is getting minutes in the court something that did not happen because of the guys having the flu. “It’s just about stand  ready is  just about trusting the process, trusting God, trusting in my coaches. they’ve been preparing me for moments like this, whether I get two minutes in the game or five or 10 minutes in the game. I still work my hardest whether it is getting defensive stuff or knocking down shots or running the lane for finishes that’s the type of player I am and that’s the type of player I continue to be to help my team win,” he said.

The Knights defeated Suffolk to sweep the weekend NECC TD Bank Turkey classic.

After the game the Knights recognized Reynoso and Monteiro with “TD Bank Northern Essex Turkey Classic All Tournament Team”

Monteiro told me that he was surprised for his recognition after how he played the past two games but he is grateful for the award.

On Saturday, Nov. 26, the NECC Knights defeated SUNY Adirondack 86 to 71 in the Sport and Fitness Center in Haverhill Campus. It was the first of two days of NECC TD Bank Turkey Classic.

NECC Knights Basketball Head Coach, Coach Stratton before the game did not know how the boys were going to perform against Adirondack. “This is going to be interesting because the last time I basically saw the whole basketball team was against Mass Bay after that game. The flu has hit us pretty bad so we got eight guys battling against the flu. We have Jeremiah Melendez out for an injury, Ryan Pacy probably won’t be available today. On restricted minutes probably going to be Philip (Cunnigham), R2 (Mehmet), Metin (Yavuz), Cristian Kinsley all probably going to be in restricted minutes coming back from the flu so today is going to be real interesting…” Stratton said.

The Knights won the tip off against SUNY Adirondack the game started at 2:03 p.m. eastern time.

Luis Reynoso of Lawrence banged in a three pointer to begin the game. Reynoso had a huge game against Adirondack as he scored 30 points and 20 rebounds.

The Knights began the first half to start the game on a 11-2 run.

“We played better than I expected as you saw we started in a total different lineup today with the guys being sick and fighting the flu. We started out extremely well it kinda built on, on that,” Stratton said.

The Knights were up 11 to 6 when Edwin SamMbaka of Paris, France scored a two pointer.

Adirondack scored a two pointer to make it 13 to 8 in favor of the Knights.

Darlin Santiago of Salem was looking to pass the ball to Philip Cunningham of Haverhill as Santiago threw the ball out of bounds.

The Knights were up by two when Cristian Kinsley of Lawrence extended the Knights’ lead to five when he knocked a three pointer from the three point line.

A’Mari James of Las Vegas, Nevada, knocked in a three pointer which cut the Knights lead to two.

Kinsley scored on a three pointer and a foul for a chance for a four point play the Knights was up 20 to 14.

Andirondack cut the lead to four when the game was 22 to 18 when Tre Fite of Massillon, Ohio committed a turnover when he was looking to pass the ball to his teammate Kevin Monteiro of Somerville.

Reynoso extended the Knights lead to six as he was attacking the glass to get the bucket in.

SamMbaka made it 26 to 18.

Andirondack followed on a 5-0 run against the Knights.

Fast forward later on at the end of the first period the game was 38 to 31 and both teams were scoreless for the final two minutes and 24 seconds second of the period after Kinsley knocked down his third three pointer of the game in the first period.

Adirondack had seven fouls while the Knights had five at the end of the first period with the Knights with a seven point lead when they were heading to their locker room.

The Knights began the second period with a 7-0 run after Adirondack called a full time out.

After the time out Adirondack scored the next four points then Reynoso scored a two pointer and a foul for a chance for a three point play.

The Knights were up 48 to 35.

Fast forward in the period with the game 52 to 43, Angel Herrera of Lawrence knocked in a three.

Mehmet “R2” Asik committed a turnover to Adirondack. Tyerell Monroe had the ball run full speed to the basket as Cunningham fouled him and Monroe went to the free throw line for two shots, where he made both in.

Fast forward later on during the second period the Knights went on a 11-0 run against Adirondack as the Knights increased their lead by 18 and the Knights were up 70 to 52.

“Yes I think it was the guys basically were shooting well. I was really impressed with the guys that were fighting off the flu that were playing …Cristian Kinsley was at the doctor four hour before this basketball got it through you had Philip (Cunningham) we had Metin and R2 coming through after fighting with the flu so they were guys that were fighting through ailments. I was appreciative tomorrow it’s going to be though to see who we got coming back because you have 24 hour window coming right back and playing again.” Stratton said.

Adirondack came back with a 10-2 run against the Knights with just under four minutes remaining the Knights had a 10 point lead.

The Knights hold on to that 10 point lead as the Knights made a run late in the game to defeat Adirondack by 15. 86 to 71 was your final as the Knights improved to 8 and 1 in the season.

On Thursday Nov. 17, NECC Knights defeated Quincy College 83 to 81 at the Sports and Fitness Center in Haverhill Campus. The Knights entered the game with a 5 and 1 record after beginning the first six games to open up the season on the road. This was the Knights home opener.

I asked NECC basketball head coach Darren Stratton before the game if he expected a large crowd on opening night after going 5 and 1 in the first six games of the season?

“I think we will have a pretty good crowd tonight,” he said. “I think since it is our opening game and the kids’ family finally got a chance to watch them play. I mean we (have) been in the road for the last six games, it’s going to feel different actually playing here at home for the first time and we are already mid way through November so I mean we are excited and hopefully the kids can respond well in their home court.”

The Knights won the tip off against Quincy. Quincy scored first on a two pointer. Cristian Kinsley of Lawrence shot a three to put the Knights on top 3-2. After Quincy scored a three to put the game 5 to 3, Luis Reynoso of Lawrence tied up at five a piece.

Reynoso put the Knights on top 7 to 5. It was a back and forth game early in the contest. It was a clean basketball in the first five minutes of action with no fouls.

After Quincy commited their first fouls of the game Edwin SamMbaka of Paris, France was in the free throw line where he shot both free throws successfully. The game eventually was 13 to 11. The Knights were leading after a steal from Mehki Dedrick of Boston that tied the scoring up at 13.

A steal by  SamMbaka and he passed it to Tre Fite of Massillon, Ohio, where a foul was called as Fite went to the free throw line as he made one of two shots in. The Knights were up by a point. It was 16 to 15 when Dedrick made the two pointer and a foul Dedrick made the free throw shot to put Quincy ahead.

Quincy was on a 7-0 run against the Knights. It ended with Fite running at the glass, shooting for two and one. Reynoso took that free throw and made it in. The Knights were down by three as the score was 22 to 19. The Knights eventually were down by a point when Reynoso fouled Quincy was in the free throw line and shot two free throws in.

The game was 24 to 21 in favor of the Knights. Reynoso banged in a game tying three pointer to put the game at 24.

In the final six minutes of the first half, he wasn’t  Ryan Pacy of Salem N.H. that we know, Quincy was stealing the ball from him, Pacy did not catch the ball it  slipping out of his hand that it went out of bonds. It was nightmare for Pacy the last six minutes of the game.

A steal by Fite and a slam dunk put the Knights up 30 to 29.

Quincy went on a 12-0 run after Reynoso shot two free throws in. That made it 41 to 32 in favor of Quincy.

The Knights were down by 11 at the half, the score was 46 to 35 in favor of Quincy.

“… We beat them where we shouldn’t beat them last year in the Regionals semifinals and you know with us now being national recognized, I think they got really hyped up Luis (Reynoso) coming off National Player of the Week. They definitely came with high emotions, outwork us, out tough us, they did everything better than us in that first half, everything. It wasn’t that one thing that we did better than Quincy in that first half,” Stratton said.

He also told me that he and the coaching staff did some adjustments at half time to be prepared for the second half to keep them in the game.

Derek Williams of Rockland shot a three for Quincy. Pacy answered right back with a three of his own.

The Knights were down by 16 when Pacy went to the free throw line to shoot for two where he made one in.

The Knights started to play aggressive as they went on a 11-0 run against Quincy to make this a two point game.

The Knights were trailing 54 to 52.

Quincy went on a 9-0 run that ended when Kinsley shot a three to put the score 64 to 55 in favor of Quincy.

Reynoso shot a two, followed by Pacy’s three pointer to make this game 64 to 60. Quincy shot a three to make this a seven point game.

The Knights were looking to come back late in the game when the game was 72 to 66. Pacy shot for two at the rim and one for a chance for a three point play that made it 72 to 69.

Pacy made it a one point game in the next possession as it was 72 to 71.

The Knights were down by five with four minutes and 45 seconds remaining when SamMbaka made both shots in to make this a three point game.

The game was 79 to 73 when Reynoso scored for two.

SamMbaka tied the game with less than three minutes of regulation as the score was 79 to 79.

Pacy shot a three pointer with a minutes and 45 seconds left of regulation as the Knights were up 82 to 81.

“We definitely fought hard after being down 11 at half time I told the guys at the half time this team is not 11 points better than this and we came up and prove it in the second half,” Fite said.

The Knights went on to defeat Quincy 83 to 81.

On Nov. 16, Luis Reynoso a forward freshman from Lawrence was named NJCAA National player of the week.

Reynoso played five of the six games for the Knights to open the season heading into Nov. 16 when he got named for this award.

According to neccknights.com Reynoso had 60 points, 47 rebounds and 10 steals during the week.

Reynoso wasn’t impressed on the number that he put during the week because he knows that he could’ve done better than that.

I asked him how he found out he got player of the week.

“I saw the news on twitter,” Reynoso said.

“It was exciting of course but we still got work to do,” he said.

He said he would like to thank God, his mom, also his teammates for pushing him during practice everyday working hard, and also his coaches.

I asked him how did he get to be so good?

“Just everyday working out at practice and working hard and just going harder everyday,” Reynoso said.

I asked him what he has to do to set the bar to win this achievement again or even winning player of the month or player of the year ?

“Just got to keep going working hard every day at practice with the team,” he said.

Reynoso told me that he told his mom about the news and that his mom was excited.