All posts by Jose Rodriguez, Editor-in-Chief / Sports Editor

Sports

Knights win their first conference game of the season

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 On Nov. 9 NECC Knights face off against Quinsigamond Community College in the Sports and Fitness Center. 

This was the Knights first conference game of the season. A big crowd was in hand just like on opening night this time 121 people were in attendance.  

This was the Knights first conference game of the year. NECC basketball head coach Darren Stratton mention to me “I think every conference game is important. With first conference game you want to go out, you obvious you want to grab it…”  Stratton said. If the Knights wants-to go far this season and have a chance for competing for a championship those are the team they need to beat. 

 They were 1-2 in the season entering tonight a chance to go back at .500.   

 The Knights begin the first period in total domination. They begin the first seven minutes of the first period with a 30-6 run. 

The Knights also had 6 fouls in that first period while Quinsigamond had 8. They were leading 34-22 at the half.  

NECC Knights in action vs Quinsigamond Community College Nov 9 Sports Editor, Jose Rodriguez

The last 13 minutes in the period they did not play intense like they did they were outscored 16 to 4. One of the reasons is probably because Matt D’Amotto injury it took the team out of rhythm a little.  

In the post-game interview coach Darren Stratton mentioned to me “I think is to early to determine but as you saw they put in a air cast right away so I think his injury it’s going to be pretty significant for us moving forward… he is another key lost to key member of our rotation that we been using,” Stratton said.  

The second period the Knights had 7 fouls while Quinsigamond had 4. The Knights had less foul than they had in opening night.  

The Knights would not win this game if it were not for the performance that Elijah Haas of Haverhill had. Haas  scored 23 points in 20 minutes a career high in point. It was enough to defeat Quinsigamond 85-57. The knights also had 41 rebounds and 20 assist during the game.  

He mentioned to me “I think it was energy honestly the bench had it energy.” The rhythm and the energy for Elijah and his teammates really brought their game. As the Knights was in control command and never blow a lead during the game.  

The Knights really need someone to step up big and have that big enough lead to start the game so the team could go into rhythm and be positive that they could really win this.  

I ask Matt Logue of Windham, N.H.,  how important was getting a win against a conference team.

“Really important we got to get as many division wins as we can and try to win a division championship,” said Logue. 

 Every team have that same mind and same mentality. The first goal is to win a division champion and the second goal is to win the championship one step out time. 

 

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Knights Basketball win their home opener

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On Wednesday November 3, 2021 the NECC Knights men’s basketball team had their home opener against UMaine- Augusta.

The players were practicing their shot before the game. I was there a hour early before tip off and both teams were already practicing. Even though this was their first game of the season it was big they were trying to do something that the 2017-2018 men’s basketball team accomplished, that was winning a game on opening night. 

Before the game I talked with the head coach, Darren Stratton and he told me that it is going to be a test. “With Umaine-Agusta there one of the top team out of there conference which they are a four-year school where they have junior, seniors that been playing together for a long time where we have a lot of freshmen so I think tonight is a good test…” Stratton said.

The first game of the season is going to be where this team is really at and how the Knights perform in the first game of the season it is going to determine how well they work together competing against other teams.

 He also mentioned “I expect a lot nerve I think I have a lot kids playing their first game first collegiate game… we have to fight through but as the game goes on I expect us to perform well tonight.” 

Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez, interviewing NECC basketball head coach.
Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez, interviewing NECC basketball head coach. Photo by Bryan Thomas

They had a big crowd watching and 115 people were in attended. NECC Athletic Director Dan Blair was announcing the starting lineup for both teams and then the national anthem.   

In the first period the Knights started the game strong they begin the game with a 12-0 run. They were leading 42-15 at the half. 

I had a chance to talk with coach Stratton after the game he told me “I think we played and we feed of our emotions and it carry us in our defense intensity the first half I feel that we had a lot of mistakes we made for it with our energy…” Stratton said.  Although the Knights had that big lead in the first period, they also had seven fouls against UMaine-Agusta.  

In the second period, which was the last period of the game they started slow and UMaine Augusta was taking advantage of the opportunities that the Knights didn’t capitalize. They outscored the Knights 51-36 in the second half. UMaine-Augusta came aggressive.

They had a different game plan in the second half to control the Knights. At one point in the game, it seems like UMaine-Agusta was going to take over the lead, but the Knights never gave up the lead thanks to a 12-0 run to begin the game back in the first period they had the lead for the entire game.

In the entire game overall, they had 17 fouls — seven in the first period and 10 in the second half. Some of the fouls that happened in the second period should not happened. They got sloppy and got lazy in the beginning of the period but as the second half progresses they got a little bit better.

  They also had 27 turnovers. They need to improve on the turnovers because if they don’t and they lose by a close game that’s going to be the reason why. It was just the first game of the season but as the season continues, I expected them to get better on the turnover and be a little more aggressive as they were in the first period.  

 According to neccknights.com, Philip Cunningham of Haverhill who played 28 minutes during the game he had 15 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steal and 4 assist to begin the 2021-2022 campaign. 

How important was having fans for the first time in two years since last year they weren’t fan in attended because of COVID?

“It felt pretty good after COVID I know a lot of people were struggling I know we had a lot of time in the gym, so we put on the work and we had good result,” Cunningham said.

Allowing fans back in the arena it gives fan excitement to cheer on their team and on top of that it helps fans to forget the hard time that happen with the virus as little by little everything is going to go back on the normality. He also mentioned “This is a big win this is a young team I’m probably youngest so it probably a big win for my first college game.” 

Most player’s on the team are new comers so this season there are a lot of new faces for the Knights basketball team.  That they are expected to perform well and every time they are in the court they are expected to win.  He was the star of the game leading on points, rebound and assist during the game.  

According to neccknights.com, Metin Yavuz of Istanbul, Turkey who played 19 minutes to begin the 2021-2022 campaign with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steal and 0 assist.

I asked him about the second half “In the second half we couldn’t came up like what we wanted to as a team we could’ve done a better job but at the end we manage to win and that was the important thing…” Yavuz mentioned. Even though the second half it wasn’t productive like they wanted to but it was enough to get the win.   

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Knights Soccer team

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On Oct. 23 the NECC Knights Soccer team were 2-9-1 and were facing Massasoit Community College at noon.  

Their head coach is Eusebio Marote this season. 

They are having a bad season. They have a losing record, but the coach said the second half of the season has shown improvement.  

“I believe you know a lot of new guys young guys in the beginning of the season were trying to figure it out, our groove way and you know the second half of the season it’s been a little better that helps a lot, finishing off the season strong and I think that what it is a couple of young guys still getting used to each other and I think the second half of the season is been an improvement so that’s a good way to look at it,” said Marote.  

They are still communicating to each other and getting a long together which is probably why they are having a little bit of improvement in the second half of the season.  

 Since they are having a poor season, I had to ask Marote if any players won’t be back or if there will be any cuts and we will see any new faces for the 2022 campaign.   

NECC Knights in action on Oct. 23 vs Massasoit Community College
NECC Knights in action on Oct. 23 vs Massasoit Community College Photo by Jose Rodriguez, Sports Editor

“With the number at the moment we would love to have some more guys so I don’t think at the moment won’t be many cuts for next year,” he said. “ I do want to have a roster of probably 24, 25 or even 26. At the moment we have 18, 17 and couple guys will be graduating so I don’t think there will be any cuts next year at the moment.”     

Jesus Guzman of Lawrence is a freshman on the team. I asked him how he prepared for a game. 

“Before the game we usually do a passing drill of what we’ve been practicing a lot so that get us warmed up before the game. I think it is just our own concentration for the game we do it as a team and we figure it out from there,” he said.  

 Warming up is a big key before the game so the body and the muscles are activated when you are in the field and everything that you did during practice you put it in the game to play hard the right way and aggressive.  

Jonathan Chasse of Haverhill  is a sophomore goalkeeper.  Being a student athlete it’s not easy, it’s a little bit of hard work that is required. 

 “I got a tutor that helps me a lot and we work two, three times a week so that really help to keep me up with my grades,” he said. Having a tutor, it’s beneficial because it helps setting up a schedule and the things that need to get done in a certain day.  

Ethan Rousseau of Haverhill is a sophomore team member. We know all athletes have different things to get better when they are in the field. Before Saturday’s game he mentioned “definitely communication with my teammates, in the right type of communication, often times myself and some of my teammates we tend to yell at each other to get our message across where kind of stepping back and looking back it from different point of view might get the point across better.”  

Communication is a big a key if Rousseau and his teammates start communicating and stop yelling I am pretty sure that they can improve their records and possible have a winning record and head to the postseason. 

 

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Women’s Volleyball semifinals and finals

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The NECC Women’s Volleyball team were looking to become Region 21 champion for the first time since 2018.  

In the semifinals they hosted number 4 seed Holyoke Community College on Oct. 23.  

The Knights won the semifinals by shutting out the number 4 seed in three sets. Set one 25-18, set two 25-23 and set three 25-11 as they were waiting for the winner of number 2 seed Community College of Rhode Island Knights vs number 3 seed Massasoit Warriors.  

I had a chance to talk with Coach Mike Pelosi when the game ended. 

“I feel really happy that we came this far this season it’s been a challenging season in a number of ways had a lot of injury and stuff so I’m proud that we made it this far,” he said. “I was surprised how hard the other team fought in the first match I was very impressed with how Holyoke came up fighting they were serving tough at us they were hitting hard at us the passing was very good as well so I really feel like we got to work for it in first match it was proud that we overcame that.”  

Although the Knights shutout Holyoke it was a tough match that they had to win to advance to the finals.  

The Knights overcame a lot of obstacles and challenges during the season but still managed to fight and not give up and still win, gaining the number 1 seed in the tournament.   

CCRI Knights defeated Massasoit Warriors to face the NECC Knights in the finals.  

On set 4 in the game versus Rhode Island, everyone thought it was over and the NECC Knights were Region 21 champions. However, there was an issue with the scoreboard and Rhode Island really won. The NECC Knights lost in decisive set 5 after both teams were tied 2-2. 

NECC Knights vs CCRI Knights finals for Region 21 championship on Oct. 23
NECC Knights vs CCRI Knights finals for Region 21 championship on Oct. 23 Photo by Jose Rodriguez, Sports Editor

“I thought it was over like most of the crowd but I mean I didn’t feel that bad about it I thought CCRI did an amazing job fighting back,” said Coach Pelosi. “I thought we did a pretty good job in our side of the court but they dug in just in the right moment they refused to give up so you know I have a lot of respect I earn a lot of respect for them in that process so I don’t feel bad losing to an opponent like that.”  

Then I asked Coach Pelosi about the slow start the team had in the first set they were out-scored 0-5 and 1-7 to begin the first set and still managed to win that first set 27-25. 

“ In the beginning of the set we had some lineup issues and I think that was a distraction for the girls we were forced to make a last minute line up change,” he said. “I think that was a bit of distraction. I was very happy once they recognized that they can get their heads back in the game and started playing more of our level of playing.”  

After the game I spoke with Lismari Valdez of Haverhill about the disappointing lost in the finals. 

“It was definitely a good game.  It was a lot of pressure, a lot of injury this season so the fact … we were able to keep our head in the game and to fight this hard all the way until the end it was critical,” said Valdez.   

This season it was up and down for the NECC Knights women’s volleyball team. It takes a lot of hard work and chemistry to work together to be in the position that they were coming close to winning the Region 21 tournament for the first time in three years.  

  Ashly Dominguez, a Lawrence High School graduate, talked about the drama at the end of the first set that they came from behind to win. 

“I think that set was very stressful as it was point by point … I think the stress got to us a little bit but we worked really hard to keep getting our points, point by point knowing we could climb up there,” she said.  

The first set is always huge and key because if you win the first set most of the time you win the whole match. It was key for them to win that set in the beginning.  

For more information about the women’s volleyball schedule go to neccknights.com    

 

Sports

Basketball Knights getting ready for 2021-2022 season

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NECC Knights Basketball head coach is Darren Stratton with 12 games left before the season starts.   Stratton graduated from NECC in 1996. He played from 1994-1996 and was head coach from 1999-2015. During his first chapter as coach he won more than 200 games, including advancing to Region 21 championship games in 2003 and 2009, according to neeccknights.com  

He returned back in 2020-2021 for his second turn around as coach.  

The basketball team was practicing Oct. 22 in the Sport and Fitness Center in Haverhill campus.  

Coach Stratton told me that they only have three  returners from last year. 

Coach Stratton talked to the players after practice on Oct. 22
Coach Stratton talked to the players after practice on Oct. 22 Photo by Jose Rodriguez, Sports Editor

“We have five international kids in our team this year and a kid from Florida so we have two kids from Turkey, three from Canada and one from Florida so we recruit all over anyone that’s willing to come to Northern Essex that can compete and basically we are trying to involve Northern Essex not only as community college but hopefully to grow as a regional and national power … so we expect a lot from this basketball team basically.”  

Christian Kinsley of Lawrence is one of the three captains of the NECC Knights. In high school he played two years of football and a year in track and played 4 years of basketball in high school. Last season he played five games averaging nine points per game 34% in the field goal , 22.2 % on the three point line, 100.0 % on the free throw line averaging 3.8 rebound per game and 1.6 assist per game, according neccknights.com. He mentions to me how is he preparing. “This year I tried to get my shot up before practice and after practice I tried to stretch and rest and get ready for tomorrow,” he said.  

He said he goes in to the court early before practice starts. 

Cameron Stratton of Lawrence is one of the three captains of the NECC Knights. Last season he played five games averaging 2.4 points per game 30.8 field goal, 37.5 % three-point,  in the field throw line 33.3 %, averaging 2.4 rebound per game and 2.4 assist per game according neccknights.com We all know that being an athlete and keeping track on your school work is not not easy.  

“Thankfully for academic coaching I go to academic coaching they keep me on track and basically I just get all of my work done through there,” said Cameron Stratton.  

Daniel Almarante of Lawrence is one of the three captains of the NECC Knights. Last season he played five games averaging 7.4 points per game, 57.1 % field goal, 50.0 % in the three-point line, 25.0 % in the free throw line, averaging 4.4 rebound per game and 1.6 assist per game according to neccknights.com He has been playing basketball since he was five. He mentioned to me “In high school I didn’t played basketball I did football and wrestling then I came to NECC to play basketball.” Taking a break from a sport that someone likes can be good to explore new sports to see if the person is interested and they like it. Almarante mentioned that in high school he used to do wrestling and probably he did it because he wants to learn how to defend himself from a situation and self-defense.  

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Top-seeded volleyball team heads into tournament

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The NECC Knights volleyball team plays Mass Bay Community College
The NECC Knights volleyball in action against Mass Bay Community College on Oct. 16. Photo by Jose Rodriguez, Sports Editor

The top-seeded NECC women’s volleyball team will host the NJCAA Region 21 tournament Oct. 23 at the Sports and Fitness Center.

The volleyball head coach is Mike Pelosi. It is his first head coach job at college, but he has experience coaching in high school and clubs.

Pelosi has more than 10 years experience with the Pumas Volleyball Club in North Andover and has experience at both Haverhill High School and Timberlane Regional High School.

On Saturday, Oct. 16 at noon the NECC women’s volleyball team faced off against Mass Bay Community College in the Sports and Fitness Center on the Haverhill campus.  Entering the Oct. 16 game the NECC Knights were five and one in conference games. That’s good for a .833% overall in their season. They were five and seven coming into the Oct. 16 contest. In non-conference games they were 0 and six, according to the NECC Knights website.

The first set they started off with a 5-0 and a 15-2 run to win the set 25-6.

They came aggressive as the game started. They had energy as the game progressed, and they were hungry to win.

This season in 10 matches NECC freshman Dejaale Torres of Lawrence had 2.54 kills per set, .080 hitting percentage, 0.32 assist per set, 0.30 blocks per set, 0.65 service aces per set and a 2.65 digs per set, according to the NECC Knights website.

The first team to win three sets wins the game. The first set is always key to win because that means the other team has pressure.   “After we played the first set it really brought our energy up and we started playing better,” said Torres.

The players were confident that they could put this game away after winning the first set.

The second set they started off to a slow start but managed to win the set 25-16.

Lowell High School graduate freshman Kaithlene Perez-Flores in 10 matches had stats of 1.49 kills per set, .084 hitting percentage, 0.27 assist per set, 0.11 service aces per set and 3.22 digs per set before the  Oct. 16 game, according to the NECC Knights website.

NECC Knights volleyball team celebrates after winning a set in a game against Mass Bay Community College Oct. 16.
NECC Knights volleyball team celebrates after winning a set in a game against Mass Bay Community College Oct. 16. Photo by Jose Rodriguez, Sports Editor

They were able to come back midpoint during the second set to win. “I feel like we all pick each other up and start focusing on the mistake and focused in the next point what we can do to fix that,” Perez-Flores said.

It was key for the team to focus and rebound to win the set after starting the second half slow. When the Knights had a 2-0 set lead that gave Mass Bay Community College almost no chance to win the game.

The third set they started a 14-2 run that was enough to defeat Mass Bay Community College in three straight sets 25-6, 25-16 and 25-7.  Before the game Coach Pelosi told the girls “we played this team before we had a success outcome against them, and I wanted to make sure that we came in with the same sense of focus and urgency against them so what I told them the outcome is not decided yet and it is not going to be the better team that win this match it’s going to be the team that plays better today.”

They had a pretty good idea who they were facing as they were facing the same team nine days prior of the Oct. 16 match up at Mass Bay Community College.  The Knights  won the season series against Mass Bay by going 2-0 and each time they faced each other the Knights shut out Mass Bay three set to 0.

The Knights team has home field advantage for the Oct. 23 game as they start a Region 21 tournament.They will play Holyoke Community College at 11 a.m. The winner will play the championship game at 3 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Expectations are high for the upcoming baseball season

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During the 2021 fall season NECC Baseball team is playing exhibition games. They practice a lot in the field and work out in the gym. They are doing everything that they can to be prepared for the spring. The NECC Knights is a Division Three team. They won the region championship eight times in school history, including seven straight times from 2012-2018. They also won their first ever district championship in 2018.

Coach Jeffrey "Jeff" Mejia
Coach Jeffrey “Jeff” Mejia Photo courtesy of neccknights.com

Jeffrey “Jeff”  Mejia is the NECC Baseball head coach and since he came in 2013, they were New England Region Champion six times, District champions five times, including five NJCAA World Series appearance. They were NJCAA World Series national runner up in 2016. In 2015 it was Mejia’s best season going 28-4. For this season coming up coach Mejia said he has “very high expectations.”

“We got a very talented team off to a great start this fall, arguably the most talented team we’ve had in a number of years. We (have) very high expectations, the goal is to win a national championship,” he said.

Coach Mejia and his staff are ready to bring back the trophy back to NECC for the first time since 2018.

Photo of Jared Coppola
Jared Coppola Photo courtesy of neccknights.com

Jared Coppola of Lynn is an infielder, a third baseman for the NECC Knights. Last season in 33 games he batted .361 with 17 RBI and a home run. This season they will play a full schedule and they’re doing everything they can as a team to prepare for the season.

“ I definitely think we have a few kids in this team that can be potential draft picks as long as we do the right things in school in the weight room and we come to practice with the mentality to get better every single day,” he said.

Coppola and his teammates looking at the future a dream to become reality that they been dreaming for a long time that is to get drafted to play pro.

Photo of Clay Campbell
Clay Campbell Photo courtesy of neccknights.com

Clay Campbell of Goffstown, N.H., is an infielder, a shortstop for the NECC Knights. Last season in 34 games he batted .371 with one home run and 30 RBI. He also can run as he has speed in the bases in 22 opportunities to steal, he got caught three times with 19 stolen bases.

He mentioned that time management is a big key to being a student athlete.

“Especially with online classes I specifically took online classes so it will be easier to be able to do my other responsibilities as well as baseball so it’s really just sticking to your time schedule and getting the work done when you can,” he said.

Todd Tringale
Todd Tringale Photo courtesy of neccknights.com

Todd Tringale of Saugus is a starting right-handed pitcher for the NECC Knights. Last season in 12 games he made 10 appearances with a four and one record on 50 innings pitch he strikeout 78 with giving up one home run and a 2.16 ERA.

We all know what happened last year with coronavirus and it was difficult for teams  to adjust.

“Practice last year in the fall season it was tough …. The game schedule was really hectic it was little off than the other years, I mean we were piling as many games as we possibly could and you know obviously I mean with the mask mandate it was different back then and going through all of that it was though,” he said.

Look out for the NECC Knight’s baseball team. This team is very talented, very resilient and they don’t give up.

After conducting an interview with them I have no doubt in my mind that they are going far this season into the post season and possibly winning a championship.

We all know that Coach Mejia has been coaching the baseball team since 2013 and the fact that he mentions that this team is the most talented team in a number of years really stands out.

It means a lot not just for the school but for the community as well. It shows how they are a great team and how they work together as a whole and I don’t have any doubt in my mind that they could possibly end up winning a championship. That’s how good they are going to be. This team is going to be exciting to watch.