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

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Knights volleyball gets revenge against Bulldogs took game one of the tri-match

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On Saturday Oct. 15, NECC Knights defeated the Bulldogs three sets to two In the first game of a tri-match against Bunker Hill Community College.

The Knights lost the first set 25-18, the Knights won the second set 27-25, the Knights lost the third set 25-17, the Knights won the fourth set 25-21 and the Knights won the decisive set five 15-9.

The last time the Knights faced the Bulldogs prior to this matchup was in Sept. 29. That didn’t go well for the Knights way back in Charlestown as they were knocked around in three straight set.

“We find a few different focuses for the game and I feel like getting some different ones definitely work so I think definitely that helped them win,” said Assistant head coach Marissa Reardon.

The game officially started at 11:03 a.m.

The Knights was down 3-1 to start this contest but they tied the game at three.

A good save by Caroline Burns  of Haverhill  for the Knights prevented the Bulldogs from scoring.

A good spike by Burns put this game 8-5 in favor of the Knights. The Bulldogs rotation was wrong to put this game 9-6 in favor of the Knights.

The Bulldogs went on a 10-0 run against the Knights before the Knights finally could attack a run.

The Knights were down by nine 23-14 when the Knights called a timeout.

After the timeout the Knights settled in a little, the Knights scored two more and the Bulldogs one more to make this game 24-16 and a spike by Burns made this game 24-17 but it wasn’t enough as the Knights lost the first set 25-18.

“Definitely after the first set we were definitely pushing the girls we did try a different rotation and again rotations are hit and miss on how it i going to go in. Certain rotation work and certain parts of the rotation don’t work,” said Reardon.

Knights volleyball game one against Bunker Hill
Knights volleyball game one against Bunker Hill Photo by Editor-in-Chief / Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

In the second set Bulldogs were on a 4-0 run before Burns spike made it 4-1. The Knights scored the next two points to make it 4-3 in favor of the Bulldogs. The Knights eventually tied the game at seven but couldn’t take the lead.

Kaithlene Perez-Flores of Lowell spike tied the game at eight.

The Bulldogs went on a run against the Knights. The Knights were down by four when they came back to tie the game at 13.

The Knights were s down by five, they were losing 20 to 5 when coach Reardon called a timeout.

After the time out the Knights settled in and make this game close. Perez-Flores was serving and made two straight points.

The Knights were up 25-24 and needed one more point to win, but instead the Bulldogs tied it at 25.

The Knights made the next two and won the second set 27-25.

In the third set the Knights were down three to one when they tied the game and took the lead 4-3. The Knights were up 5-3 when Bunker Hill scored three straight point to make it 6 to 5. The Knights eventually tied the game.

It was a good game early in the third set back and forth battle. The Knights were down by four 17-13 when coach Reardon called a timeout.

The Bulldog went on a run to increase the lead over the Knights.

The Bulldogs won set three over the Knights 25-17.

In set four the Knights were down early but they came back to tie the game at 7.

The Knights made it 10-7.

The Knights were up 16-12 when the Bulldogs’ miscommunicated as the ball landed between them.

The Knights called a time out when they were winning by three, six points away from winning the set.

The Bulldogs came back and made it a one point game as they took the lead 20-19.

The Knights tied the game at 21 as the ball was in.

Burns took the lead as they were up 22-21 with a spike.

I had a chance to talk to Burns after the game and talk to her about her performance.

“I think I just really want them to beat them since they beat us last time. So I tried to put my A game and get excited. It’s hard to get excited early in the morning but we all kinda hyped each other up and it’s also nice that your teammates are comforting and cheering you on,” said Burns.

Burns also said that they were working on stamina, to communicate better and work together as a team as a whole.

The Knights late in the game went on a 7-2 run to finish the set as they won 25-21 and forced a decisive set five.

In the decisive set five you need to win by 15 points to win the set.

In the beginning of the fifth set it was a good battle, back and forth game before the Knights increased their lead by three as they were up 8 to 5 and both teams switch sides.

The Knights were up 12 to 8 when the Bulldog coach called a timeout.

The Knights went on to win the decisive game five 15 to 9.

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NECC Knights soccer lose to CCRI Knights

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On Friday Oct. 14, Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI Knights) defeated NECC Knights 3 to 1 to snap the soccer Knights  four game winning streak.

Knights had a four game winning streak coming into Oct. 14 contest in the Haverhill campus.

It was a return of Coach First Name Marote who had missed a few games because he was sick.

“Yeah, you know it was definitely hard. I was actually watching sideline from a far in my vehicle keeping eye on my team and you know our assistant coach did very well the last two matches pick up a couple win,” said Marote.“ So that’s always a great thing, you know our coaching staff here we believe everyone who is part of it from me to my assistant coaches and my goalkeeper coach. So it was good I am happy to be back, a nice beautiful day big game in conference today, it can factor a lot of things for us if we win today.”

The game was supposed to start at 3:30 but the CCRI Knights did not arrive until 3:50, 20 minutes after the start time.

The game officially started at 4:04.

In the fifth minutes of the game Sam De Amorim of Methuen almost scored as he kicked it directly to the goaltender.

NECC Knights soccer vs CCRI Knights Photo by Editor-in-Chief / Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

In the 20th minute of the game Fadi Serhan of Middleton missed an opportunity that would’ve put up the Knights 1-0, but instead he over kicked as the Knights missed that opportunity to take the lead.

In the twenty minutes Juan Barrios of Pawtucket, R.I. scored the first goal of the game an assist of his brother Roy Barrios of Pawtucket, R.I.

In the 25th minute of the game the referee gave Cam’ron Aldana of Providence, R.I., a yellow card.

The Knights had few opportunities in the first half but couldn’t cash in as they missed a few opportunities.

In the first half the NECC Knights had eight shots on goal and CCRI had five. Both teams had at least one corner kick in the first half. CCRI Knights had six fouls while NECC Knights had four. The NECC Knights had two offside while CCRI Knights had one. NECC Knights had eight saves while CCRI Knights had four.

In the second half in the 74 minutes Wilson Penafiel of Providence, R.I. scored on an assist from Juan Barrios.

In the 81 minutes Penafiel scored the second goal of the ball game in an assist fromf Aaron Ramos of Warwick.

One minute later, Casey Darcey of Warwick, R.I., was issued a yellow card.

In the second half CCRI Knights had seven shots on goal while the NECC Knights had four. CCRI Knights had four corner kick while NECC Knights had two. NECC Knights had seven fouls while CCRI Knights had one. NECC Knights had five saves and CCRI had four.

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Knights volleyball defeated Great Bay at home

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On Thursday Oct. 13, NECC Knights defeated Great Bay Community College three sets to one.

The Knights lost set one 25-20 and came back to win the next three sets, set two 25-21, set three 26-24 and on the fourth set 25-15.

The game officially started 6:32 pm.

The Knights scored the first three points of the game before Great Bay scored the next three to tie it up at 3.

The Knights were up 7 to 5 before Great Bay evened the score apart at 7.

The Knights were down a point when Ashley Dominguez of Lawrence tied the game at 11.

It was a good battle early in the contest between these two teams.

The Knights were looking to get themselves into the game when Caroline Burns of Haverhill spiked the ball to make it 19-17 still in favor of Great Bay.

Great Bay was on a run against the Knights as the Knights fell short 25-20 in the first set.

“Definitely, the first set I felt it was a little rocky but I feel like the girls definitely pulled out of a hole they were in when it comes to point,” said assistant head coach Marissa Reardon.

In the second set the Knights were up 3-2 when Great Bay called an unusual early timeout way too quickly in the second set.

After the time out Great Bay went on a 5-0 run against the Knights.

After that the Knights scored the next three to put this game 7 to 6. Great Bay missed up the order to tie the game up at seven.

The Knights was up 12 to 9 when Ashley  Martinez of Lawrence hit the ball and the ball barely went in to make it 13 to 9.

The momentum shifted he Knights’ way as they started to get into a run and were looking to blow it open in the second set.

The Knights were winning 13 to 9 as they increased that lead to 20 to 14. The Knights were five points away from winning the set.

The Knights increased their lead to 8, that lead Great Bay to shorten that lead a little bit but the Knights won the second set 25-21 to tie the series up 1-1.

“The second set it was a lot better they fixed a lot of the mistakes that we talked about in between the sets and I thought it went really well,” Reardon said.

In the third set Martinez did a great save from preventing Great Bay from scoring to make it 2-0 in favor of the Knights. Great Bay went on a 7-0 run before coach Reardon called a time out.

Kathleen Perez Flores of Lowell made it 11-9, she tip  the ball with both of her hands up and the ball went in.

The Knights were up 16 to 14 but eventually Great Bay tied up at 17.

The Knights were up 19 to 17 before Great Bay tied the game and took a 20- 19 lead.

At the end of the third set it got pretty intense as the Knights defeated Great Bay 26-24 in the third set.

In the fourth set with the Knights winning  two set to one over Great Bay.

The Knights were down 8 to 6 before they tied the game and took the lead 9 to 8.

When the Knights have that 9 to 8 lead Great Bay had no chance to defeat the Knights.

The Knights went on a 10-2 run against Great Bay to put this game at 19 to 10 as the Knights were 6 points away from winning the set.

Great Bay was looking for a comeback but the Knights would not allow that to happen in their house as the Knights defeated Great Bay 25 to 15.

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Knights Men’s Basketball media day for 2022-23 season

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On Wednesday Oct. 12, the NECC Knight’s men’s basketball held media day at 3 p.m. in the Sport and Fitness center in the Haverhill campus.

Their 2022-23 campaign is set to begin on Nov. 4 against New Hampshire Tech at 7:15 p.m. The Knights will play the first six games on the road before their home opener on Nov. 17 against Quincy College.

Ashton Ventola of Danville, N.H., played 23 games for the Knights last season. He is currently majoring in exercise science transfer.

Ventola said he is working hard during the offseason to get prepared for the season. “Just keeping my body right, definitely been incorporating a lot more weight training. I’ve gained fifteen pounds of muscle in the offseason definitely a significant increase,” he said. “Just also keep hitting the gym and just keep my work ethic up you know working on my skills, my ball handling, my guard skills, shooting, finishing around the rim all of that stuff like that.”

Ventola is most looking forward this upcoming season to winning Region 21 and make it to the nationals. “…We know we can make it there, we can compete I’m just trying to do my part to help my team win…”he said.

A personal goal for Ventola that he has for this upcoming season is working on his game and transferring to a four-year school to continue playing basketball.

I asked Ventola of how he thinks his experience is going to be playing in Long Island, N.Y., and in Newark, N.J., as the Knights is set to play a weekend match against Suffolk County Community College and Essex County College.

“Is going to be fun that’s all I got to say, make some noise, you know help my team make some noise, you know put us in the map outside of Region 21, the end goal like I said win a championship and my own goal is to move on to a four year. I know I can, my teammates know I can (there are) new faces this year… the mission is the same go get that chip” Ventola said.

Mike Diaz of Lawrence is a freshman business transfer major. He told me that he has been playing basketball since he was 6-years-old.  “I had no offers coming into NECC and I chose this because my previous basketball coach told me this is going to be a great opportunity for me and NECC basketball coach took me in and it was history ever since that,” he said.

A skill that he has  that it could be a game changer is his sportsmanship and his communication communications, he said. “ I feel like my sportsmanship is top tier and my communication skills and I am a leader even though I am one of the younger guys I still have that leadership from me coming from high skills and I feel that could help the team,” Diaz said.

He is most looking forward during the season is to get better everyday and to have as much film as possible.

Darlin Santiago of Salem he is a freshman a newcomer for the Knights majoring in business.

NECC Knights 2022-23 team photo during media day
NECC Knights 2022-23 team photo during media day Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

He told me that he had other offers to play somewhere else. “I (have) been playing basketball since I was 5 years old,” Santiago said. “I had other offers other JUCCOS, COVID year missed up my grades so this is one of the best options I had so that’s why I picked Northern Essex,” he said.

A skill that he has on the table is he can find guys that are open so he can pass it to his teammates and score on open shots, he said.

He is working on his defense and his conditioning to improve before Nov. 4, which is the Knights first game of the season.

He is most looking forward to having that bond with his teammates and knowing the coaches better.

Philip Cunningham of Haverhill is a business major in his second year for the Knights as he is getting ready for the upcoming season last season he played 26 games.

“I really just being in the gym lifting, going on workouts and playing more for my teammates and others to be prepared for the season,” he said.

Other than wining region 21 Cunningham is looking for his team to go undefeated.

NECC Knights men’s basketball  head coach is Darren Stratton, Stratton last season took the Knights to the Region 21 championship game.

I asked him if he had enough sleep during the offseason and hopefully the team that he and his coaching staff have has improved from the previous season.

“Yeah I think my biggest thing Jose, was I didn’t get enough sleep during the offseason part of coaching is once one season is over the another one begins,” said Stratton. “You know the lost to CCRI (Community College of Rode Island)in the Regional championship game kinda motivate us a little bit more in the aspect knowing what type of kids that we need to recruit what type of players we needed to add to the upcoming roster in order to get better … I’m excited for the upcoming 2022-23 season and hopefully we can build upon that is a new season and hopefully we can grow as a basketball team,” he said.

Stratton and I talked a little bit about the roster and how a certain player made the roster and also the decision of cutting players.

“… We (are) carrying a really large number this year. We (are)carrying 21 guys that we felt that we had close to 40 kids ether involved or trying to try out. We cut down to 21 kids but we (are) holding a couple of redshirt candidates as well, (those kids are) going to practice with us but not be able to play during the games, so I am a little skeptical carrying such a large number of our kids but we are going to try to work on the aspect of, give the guys the reps that we think they are going to play a lot and continue with it, while maybe those other guys that are in the bench could earn a spot or earn some time in the basketball court but right now we (are)carrying 21 guys so that’s what we going to continue with for the upcoming season …” Stratton said.

“Yes it is extremely difficult (cutting players) I’m going to be honest with you that’s the worst part of this job is making those tough decisions to try to put a team together. Sometimes I learned over the years I used to try to keep all of the best players and I was pretty successful so I tried to find an even balance of hardworking kids, talented players and try to find the right balance for that. Also I take into account that if I think a player is going to make the team but not seeing a lot of playing time as potential down the road I will probably have not played this year so we can develop (them) and make an easy transition for next year…” Stratton said.

Stratton also kept all of his returns that were on the last season and had an honest conversation with some of them.

Stratton told me that right now the team is figuring out their way to work as a team as a whole and be united.

Stratton is excited that the team is going to a weekend in New York and in  New Jersey to play two different college basketball teams. “I’m excited about it Dan (Blair) and I had a conversation at the end of the season with us losing the region championship we were up for a large bid for the national tournament and the one knock on us was that we didn’t play (a) tough enough schedule,” he said. “Our strength schedule was weak they didn’t consider the teams from New Hampshire Tech conference as reliable opponents so what we did is Dan (Blair) and I sat down and we tried to create one of the toughest schedules that we can play. Inn order to do that you have to play teams that were out of your Region that are Region 15, some rank opponents and that’s what we trying to do. Going down to Long Island in New York to play Suffolk (County Community College) is going to be extremely difficult but what I think the kids is going to be up for the challenge and travel to division two Essex (County College) which have all scholarship kids is going to be difficult for us there but I think also is going to be extremely beneficial for us because it is going to put us on an overnight trip where we are forced to get a long and get a chance to know each other better by being on those trips. I’m looking forward to it… Stratton said.

Stratton and I talked about TD Turkey Classic that is going to take place during Thanksgiving weekend.

“Dan (Blair) and I, that’s another thing Dan wanted to do, he’s been a fabulous AD I couldn’t ask for a better athletic director to work for. I (have) worked for four different ones here at the college. So Dan and I got a great relationship in the aspect of he wants the best of the student athletes not only athletics but academically, also he wants the opportunity to play top notch programs so Dan asked my opinion on the Turkey Classic in Thanksgiving and I was all in and all for it from the beginning and we will able to get Suffolk up here and (SUNY) Adirondack, top two programs out of New York to come up here and play what I think one of the top teams in our region with us and Bunker Hill I think coming here and being able to compete against them is only beneficial for our Region to show what capable talent our region has as well…” Stratton said.

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Knights volleyball comeback felt short against Holyoke

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On Tuesday, Oct. 11 Holyoke defeated the NECC Knights in five sets in the Sport and Fitness Center on Haverhill campus.

The Knights lost the first two sets 25-19 and 25-15. The Knights won the next two 25-22 and 25-9 before losing on the decisive set five 15-9.

The game officially started at 6:33 p.m.

In the first set the Knights were quickly down the first two points. The Knights quickly got themselves into the game, but a spike from Heather Walsh of Harwich made it 4-3 in favor of Holyoke.

The Knights tied the game at four, then Holyoke scored the next two points and eventually the Knights did not just tie the game at six but they took the lead in the first set.

It was a good battle in the first set. Both teams were competitive and were looking to take the first set of best of five sets.

The Knights tied the game at 16. The Knights called a time out when they where losing by a point they were down 19-18.

Holyoke went on a 6-1 run on the Knights to finish off the first set as Holyoke took set one 25-19 from the Knights.

Just like the first set, the Knights were down early in the second set.

The Knights came back to take a 4-3 lead. They then increased that lead by three.

Holyoke came back to tie the game at nine, but the Knights scored the very next point to make it 10-9.

The game was 14 to 11 and the Knights were down by three when Coach Mike Pelosi of Haverhill decided to call a time out.

The Knights then were losing by six when miscommunication between Ashley Martinez of Lawrence and Ashley Dominguez of Lawrence let the ball drop right in front of them.

Knights volleyball against Holyoke in the Sport and Fitness Center
Knights volleyball against Holyoke in the Sport and Fitness Center Photo by Editor-in-Chief / Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

“I do believe communication plays a really big role playing the sport of volleyball in general not only in our team but just in general volleyball is a team sport and without communicating you really don’t know where the ball is going to,” said NECC women’s volleyball player Eliany Dejesus of Lowell after the game. “ …We are still working, I feel like we didn’t communicate in the beginning because we might of just gone in our heads and just didn’t communicate … other than that our girls really pulled through and stared getting their act together and I really believe they tried their hardest to win today even though we took a lost it was a w(in) to me,”

The Knights were down by eight when they were losing 20 to 12.

After the time out the Knights were looking to regroup but it wasn’t enough as they lost the third set 25-15.

“So here is the challenge that we had is consistency, we have a challenge in consistency that we all acknowledge that. Communication is important, we acknowledge we should be calling the ball all the

team so we do that but then everything it seems fine but I think sometimes athletes conclude all right we don’t have any communication problem …. (it’s) is the same thing with positioning…” said coach Pelosi. .

In the third set the Knights were losing 3-2 when a spike by Martinez went barely in and she was pumped up to tie the game at three.

After the time out the Knights immediately took off. The Knights went on 11-2 run to tie the game at 17. You could see on the players’ faces the excitement and the energy..

The Knights were then losing 20-19 when Holyoke called a time out.

At the end of the third set it got pretty intense. The game was a nail biter back and forth game. The Knights took the lead late in the game to make it 23-22.

The Knights made it 24-22 and they were one point away from forcing a set four and they did just that beating Holyoke 25-23 in the third set.

In the fourth set the Knights scored the first two points before Holyoke scored. The Knights on the fourth set started off on a 8-3 run. The Knights increased their lead to six when they were up 11 to 5. The Knights increased their lead to nine and they were totally dominate in the fourth set.

A spike by Martinez made it 18-9. The Knights increased their lead by 13, they were up 22-9 and the Knights held on for a 25-9 win to force a set five.

On a decisive set five every point is huge for both teams and instead of 25 whoever scores 15 wins the set and wins the game. The first team that scores eight points both teams swap benches and they rotate until the set is over.

Holyoke started the fifth set on a 6-2 run on the Knights.

The Knights were eventually down by seven. Holyoke made it 13-5 and eventually the Knights lost the fifth set 15 to 6.

The Knights come back down two sets to none, but fell short as they lost three sets to two against Holyoke.

I asked Coach Pelosi about the resilience that they had coming back from two set to none and almost winning the game, they never quit, they fought and fought until the end.

“I think it shows personal growth. In our last home game we didn’t have that level of grit so I think this shows that they are willing to hang in there and fight and if you look at a lot of the top performance teams ,they’re not  necessarily winning by a giant score margin but they had that level of grit and they stick it in with a lot of adversity… in situations similar level teams, slightly better teams, so I felt way better about today’s game then some of the game prior early in the season. It really made me feel a lot better today,” Coach Pelosi said.

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Knights soccer made it four straight win

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On Tuesday Oct. 11, the NECC Knights blanked  Mass Bay Community College  4-0 for a conference division game.

I asked NECC Knights assistant head coach Marcos Viera Filho if it was positive thing or a negative that the next five games are going to be against conference division teams.

“I think is a positive because basically we had the whole season to prepare for it. So there is no excuses, you know we had time to prepare and I think we have been getting better as the seasons went a long so I think it in the right time,” said Viera Filho before the game.

The game started at 3:30 p.m. The Knights had an early 1-0 lead, three minutes into the game Sam De Amorim of Methuen scored on an assist from Fadi Serhan of Middletown.

The Knights had two corner kicks in less than 12 minutes.

In the 15 minutes into the game a player of Mass Bay touched the ball and passed it to the goaltender and the coach was red hot as the referee did not saw that.

39 minutes into the game the goaltender of Mass Bay was out cold as he got hit in a collision with one of the players.

The goaltender Jack Randlett was taken out of the game and the back up goal tender came in.

Knights soccer against Mass Bay
Knights soccer against Mass Bay Photo by Editor-in-Chief / Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

Knights soccer player Leonard Rodriguez Ortiz of Methuen and Mass Bay player  Gift Soto Kuepouo both got a yellow card for unsportsmanlike behavior.  

The Knights were up 1-0 at the half.

The Knights had 11 shots on goal while Mass Bay had one. The Knights and Mass Bay both had three corner kicks and both teams had four fouls and both teams had a yellow card.

The Knights had two corner kicks in the first five minutes.

In the 62 minutes in the game De Amorim got an assist by Johnathan Diaz to make it 2-0 Knights.

Serhan was issue a yellow card for slamming the ball into the ground 75 minutes into the game.

I talked to the assistant head coach about Serhan’s actions.

“It wasn’t just Fadi (Serhan), that was something that happened with a couple players, it has been something that we have been dealing with during the season but I think the best way for us is to practice on that is to really make intense moments in practices situation that are going to be competitive in practice so we can get to used to dealing with some adversity,” said Viera Filho.

Ethan Mugwany of Haverhill scored the third goal of the game in the 79th minute of the game.

In the very next minutes the Knights did not waste any time to make this game 4-0 — Sem Milambo of Lawrence scored on a  assist of De Amorim.

The Knights had 14 shots on goal while Mass Bay had one. The Knights also had five corner kicks and Mass Bay none. Both teams each had a yellow card and a foul.

“The last two games it was definitely important wins as a team collectively but obviously we have tough competition coming up with better records, so it  is good that we got to win but we still have a lot of work to do,” said Viera Filho.

The Knights in the second half had 14 shots on goal and Mass Bay one. The Knights had 14 corner kicks and Mass Bay zero. Both teams had a foul while Knights had two yellow cards and Mass Bay none.

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Knights soccer domination win over Bay Hawks

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On Saturday Oct. 8, NECC Knight dominated Bristol Community College Bay hawks 6 to 1 at home.

Assistant head coach Marcos Viera Filho was taken over for coach Eusebio Marote who did not attend in the game because he was sick.

“Momentum is actually key word,” Viera Filho said. “Something we going to talk about in our pre game talk right before kick off basically carried that momentum into our third potential win just keep it rolling,” he said before the game.  

Bay hawks are desperate and anxious for a win as they were winless 0-6 heading into Oct. 8 contest against the Knights.

Game time officially started at 12:03 pm.

The Knights didn’t waste no time scoring four goals in the first 18 minutes of the game.

Knights facing Bristol soccer at home
Knights facing Bristol soccer at home Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

Two goals from Fadi Serhan of Middletown and both assist of Serhan goal came from Sam De Amorim of Methuen.

De Amorim had two assist and a goal in a rout of 6-1 win on Saturday afternoon.

“I am glad that we took the win, I am glad that I help my team with two assist and one goal everyone here play really good and I’m happy about the result,” De Amorim said after the game.  

Ethan Mugwany of Haverhill scored the third goal of the game in the 12 minutes mark in a assist of Johnathan Diaz of Methuen.

Diaz in the 18 minutes mark make it 4-0 in favor of the Knights unassisted on the play.

In the 31 minutes mark Steve Sime of Haverhill increased their lead to 5-0.

In the first half the Knights had nine shots and  Bay Hawks zero shots on goal. The Knights also had four corner kick in the first half while Bay Hawks had one. The Knights had one foul and Bay hawks had zero. The Knights had two offside while Bay Hawks had one. No team had a yellow card Knights had one fouls and Bay Hawks 2. The Knights had two offside and Bay Hawks one.

I ask assistant coach Viera Filho how huge was having a five goal lead into the half ?

“Yeah it was big, but sometimes it’s a little worried because sometimes we might unconsciously  get the foot of the pedal but at least the guys keep it rolling and manage to put a couple goals in the second half so I am happy with that,” he said.

The Knights got ball first in the second half. 50 minutes into the game it came the sixth goal for the Knights it was De Amorim who scored who already had two assist in the ball game.

Jake Igoe of Haverhill in the 57 minutes was given a yellow card.

In the 85 minutes Nicolas Cordosa De Silva of Fall River who  scored on a penalty kick that broke the Knights shutout.

In the 89 minutes the referee gave  Guilherme Lisboa of Tauton  a yellow card.

The Knights had eight shots on goal while Bay hawks had seven. The Knights had two corner kicks and Bay hawks none. The Knights had four fouls while Bay Hawks had 6.  The Knights and Bay hawks both had two  offside a piece.

I ask assistant coach  Viera Filho, who took over Saturday contest for Coach Marote, about his first career managerial win.

“It feels good man, it feels good most important we got the win collectively as a team we got a lot of guys in there typically don’t get big minutes that’s the biggest part,” he said.

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Knights blank Mass Bay in Newton

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Knights volleyball in a match against Mass Bay
Knights volleyball in a match against Mass Bay Photo by Editor-in-Chief / Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

On Thursday Oct. 6,  NECC Knights defeated  Mass bay in three straight set in Newton.

Knights won set one  25-14,  set two  25-23 and set three 25-12.

The start time of the game was 7:06 p.m.

The Knights was in business early in the game — they were motivated and hungry for a win on the road.

The Knights were on a 5-2 run in the first set and with a mini run the Knights increased their lead to 12-6.

Haileigh LaFlamme of Pelham, N.H., hit the ball and the ball barely got in and the Knights got the point.

Ashley Martinez of Lawrence pass it to Anny Lomete of Lawrence  and that point give the Knights the finishes touches for set one as they won 25-14.

“I was very happy with the first set we set what we used to and I think that really work well for us,” said  assistant head coach Marissa Reardon of Lawrence.

The Knights in the second set that energy that they had from the first set  carried over and they were determined that this set would be theirs and they were going to have a two set lead leading into the third.

In the second set the Knights had a three point lead over Mass Bay, all of a sudden they couldn’t hold up to that lead as they were losing 10-6.

 Reardon who was taking over for coach Mike Pelosi of Haverhill called a time out. After the time out the Knights went on a 5-2 run.

It was a close game, it was thick and thin in the second set. The Knights eventually tied the game up.

A spike by Knights captain Caroline Burns of Haverhill made it 18-17 in favor of the Knights.

The Knights eventually was down by a point late in the second set as Mass Bay tied the game at 18 and took a 19-18 lead.

The Knights then took the lead 20-19 and Mass Bay tied 20 on each side it was a nail bitter game, every point meant something for this two teams. You can see it on the players that was playing in the court and the one that was in the bench.

The Knights was up 23-22 when assistant head coach active head coach Reardon called a timeout.

The Knights eventually won the second set 25-23.

“In the second set we tried to do a little something new. I think the girls did will we haven’t run that rotation yet and I think telling them where we going thirty second before it started I think they did pretty well for that,” said Reardon.

In the third set the Knights begin the set scoring the first six point to have a 6-0 lead over Mass Bay.

Mass Bay made it a little interesting, scoring five straight point after the Knights started the set on 6-0 run the game know was 6 to 5 in favor of Knights.

The Knights increased their lead to eight points when the Knights was up 19 to 11.

Finally the Knights defeated Mass Bay 25 to 12.

“I feel is important not just as assistant coach but as a incoming player it’s very rewarding you can learn a lot from it and I think this girl are willing to work for it,” said Reardon.

Slider, Sports

NHTI blank Knights volleyball at home

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On Wednesday Oct. 05  NECC Knights lost three sets to none against NHTI in the Sport and Fitness Center in the Haverhill Campus.

Knights lost the first set 25-11, Knights lost the second set 25-20 and the third set 25-12.

The game officially started at 6:33 pm.

The last time NHTI faced the Knights NHTI defeated the Knights to begin the 2022 campaign.

The Knights started the first set weekly they were down 5-0 and 12-3 the Knights got into rhythm and were on a 6-1 run.

NECC Knights head coach Mike Pelosi of Haverhill called a timeout when the Knights was losing 17 to 9.

Kathleen Perez-Flores of Lowell had a few unbelievable save during the first set that prevented NHTI from scoring, but it wasn’t enough as NHTI defeated the Knight’s 25-11.

The Knights in the second set was having energy and put this game a good battle against NHTI. It was back and forth battle eventually the Knights had a three point lead over NHTI. That lead was washed away the NHTI tied the game and eventually took 11-9 lead.

The Knights was losing 22-19 and eventually they lost the second set 25-20.

On the third set the Knights was down early they were losing 7 to 4 but you can feel the energy that they had during the game. The Knights were down 12 to 6 during the game.

They were trying their best to still be in the game and to make it close, but the Knights didn’t succeed, they were down by 11 as the Knights were down 20 to 9. Eventually NHTI defeats the Knights on the third set and defeat the Knights in three straight set.

Slider, Sports

Knights Soccer improve to .500 with a win over Holyoke

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On Saturday, Oct. 1, the NECC Knights defeated Holyoke Community College three goals to one.  

I interviewed NECC Men’s Head Coach Eusebio Marote before the game. He mentioned to me, “usually we had their number the past couple of years, couple wins, but this year it looks (like) they had a different team, they just tied Roxbury not too long ago 3-3. They (are) going to be a competitive team so I think they’re going to fight, they’re going to work hard and yeah we (are) just going to try to match their level of intensity. We are at home hopefully that will help us in our advantage as well and you know go from there, “ he said.

I asked coach Marote if it was an advantage or a disadvantage for the Knights that they haven’t played for a week ?

“I think it’s a little bit of both definitely. I had some guys injured but it definitely helps for recovery and we prep a lot this week, we played a lot and went from there you know, he said.

Holyoke had the ball first to begin the game.

The Knights had two offsides the first eight minutes of the game.

Sam De Amorim of Methuen scored the first two goals of the game for the Knights.

Knights soccer against Holyoke
Knights soccer against Holyoke Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

“(De Amorim) is definitely huge for us. Last year when we recruited we expected for him to do this stuff for us and it’s something that we needed for last season. So he has been doing what he’s got to do, he is our type of guy and we go from there,” Marote said after the game.

De Amorim scored what would have been the third goal of the game, which would have been the score three to nil, with a hat trick, but the official waived the point off because the call on the field was offside. The goal did not count and the score remained two nil in favor of the Knights.

The Knights were up 2-0 at the half.

I interviewed De Amorim after the game. “It is really important, the other team when you win a half like that and the other team just tends to not believe as much, ”he said. “And then what happens with their team they had their heads down all the time for the second half and we were winning three nil. Unfortunately we got scored on but that didn’t affect us a lot so it was a really important win for us right now,” he said.

The Knights had three corner kicks while Holyoke had four. The Knights had nine shots on goal while Holyoke had three. The Knights also had three offside while Holyoke had none.

The Knights started the kick for the second half.

51 minutes into the game one of the Knights player kicked the ball and it hit right in the front of the face of the Holyoke goaltender. The trainer came and the goaltender was removed out of the game.

Johnathan Diaz of Methuen scored to made it 3-0 Knights.

On the 69  minutes of the game the referee give a yellow card to Knights goaltender Anhuar Ramos Garcia of Nashua, N.H, and a player of Holyoke as well.

Later on during the game Ramos Garcia made a nice save for the Knights, preventing from Michael Grochowski of Westfield from scoring.

On the 78 minutes Caden Hebert of Easthampton scored for Holyoke to make it 3-1 Knights as the shutout was over with just 17 minutes left.

In the second half the Knights had two corner kicks, Holyoke had none. The Knights had eight shots on goal and Holyoke had five. The Knights only had one offside in the second half, Holyoke had none. Both team had at least one  yellow card in the final 45 minutes of the game.