On Thursday Sept. 15, the NECC Knights Women’s Volleyball was defeated three sets to none against Southern Maine Community College Seawolves in South Portland, Maine.
First set 25-11, second set 25-17 and the third set 25-10.
The game was originally scheduled for 6:30 but the league changed the start time to 7 pm.
The Knights almost lost the game due to forfeit as they came just 11 minutes before the clock hits 7 pm.
“Yeah, so we couldn’t leave any earlier because we wouldn’t have enough girls so we would’ve have to forfeit either way so that’s why we came a little late,” said assistant head coach active manager Marissa Reardon.
When the Knights got there, they had 40 minutes to warm up and stretch and get ready for the game.
NECC Head Coach Mike Pelosi of Haverhill did not travel with the team to South Portland, instead it was assistant head coach Reardon in charge.
I asked her after the game why Pelosi did not travel with the team.
“He had a prior commitment that he couldn’t miss today, so he ask me to coach today and I had the opportunity to coach today,” she said.
The game officially started at 7:36 pm.
The Knights were down early against the Seawolves. The Knights was losing 13-4 when assistant head coach and active manager Reardon decided to call a time out.
Knights volleyball in a match against Southern Maine Photo by Editor-In-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez
The Knights was taken advantage of the opportunity as the Seawolves was hitting the ball outside of the court which means the Knights get a point but it wasn’t enough as Seawolves won the first set 25 to 11.
I had a chance to interview Ashley Martinez of Lawrence after the game and we talked about the first set that wasn’t played aggressively aggressive like the second set.
“At first it was a little bit new we have new plays. I started playing today but then in the second set we started to communicate better process in the game” she said.
The second set the Knights played a little bet better and more aggressive. They began the set strong on a 5-0 run but then when the Knights were winning 9-7 the Seawolves then took control of the second set. The he Knights gave up the lead and the Seawolves went on top and the Knights lost the second set 25-7.
“Yes, I was very proud we were working on our serving and our serves set? and I definitely think the second set proved that we were working on it,” said Reardon.
Seawolves in the third set began the set on a 10-1 run. The Knights didn’t have anything to show for on the last set as they lost 25-10.
“I do believe at some point we did collapse, but we do, every team has strength and weaknesses and I think we show that in few of the sets but I believe the second set was one of our best set ever,” said assistant coach active manager Reardon.
On Tuesday Sept. 13 Massasoit Community College defeated the NECC Knights 5-0 in Warrior field in Brockton, Massachusetts.
The game started at 4:03 pm. Massasoit had a quick start in this game. Two minutes into the game Romell Brown of Eastham scored the first goal thanks to an assist of Kevin Barbosa of Brockton.
Three minutes into the game the Knights had a free kick as the call was offside. The 16 fans that were in attendance were getting restless despite the Warriors of Massasoit Community College leading 1-0 the Warriors ere committing a lot of turnover and sloppy plays. The Knights didn’t cash in and take advantage of those opportunities.
“Yeah you know their a good team, they are coached by a good guy. Unfortunately a couple situations and stuff were we could’ve been better and then you know if we don’t capitalize on that then s**t is going to happen,” said NECC Soccer Head Coach Esuebio Marote after the game.
On the 13th minutes of the game Warrior soccer player Sergio Tavares DaSilva of Brockton was issued a yellow card.
On the 20th minutes Knights goalie Anhuar Ramos Garcia of Nashua, New Hampshire made a nice save from preventing the Warriors from scoring.
On the 31st minutes Warrior soccer player Damian Anderson of New Bedford was issued a yellow card.
On the 34th minutes NECC Knights soccer player Gabe Moreira of Dracut was issued a yellow card.
On the 39 minutes of the game Hans Takang of Cameroon made it 2-0 Warriors in an assist of Marc Desire of Brockton.
I ask NECC soccer player Faddie Serhan of Middletown how the defense can get better as they missed few opportunities on the first half ?
“Yeah, we just need to finish, have shots, you know opportunity it is the most important you know take shots as most as possible one can land…” he said.
The Knights were down 2-0 in the first 45 minutes of the game.
Knights battling against Massasoit Photo by Editor-In-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez
In the second half Warriors quickly started off what they didn’t finish in the 49 minutes Angelot Jerome of Randolph made it 3-0 an assist of Gracian Moreria of Brockton.
In the 55 minutes of the game Leonard Rodriguez Ortiz of Methuen was given a yellow card.
Massasoit scored another goal but it was invalid as the run got taken away from the board because the call on the field was offside and the goal did not count and it remained 3-0 instead of 4-0.
On the 59 minutes came the forth goal of the game. It was Moreira with an assist from Marc Desire of Brockton.
At 65 minutes came the last goal of the game it was Rushawn Plummer of Hyannis an assist of Nick McMahon of Swansea.
I asked coach Marote if he believes the team needs to communicate better as they only scored one goal in the last 222 minutes?
The last time the Knights scored a goal we have to go back to opening day when Sam De Amorim of Methuen scored the third goal for the Knights in the 48th minute of the game.
“I definitely I think it’s a little bit the young guys (are) a little bit too inexperienced. You know still early in the season and the most important thing is in my opinion at the moment there hasn’t been a conference game yet. I know our first conference game is this Saturday, we’re hoping to train hard this week and try to get result on Saturday,” he said.
I told the same question to NECC soccer player Serhan “ I would say better communication, working as a unit that’s what we are lacking the most defense first as always and we still working on that and I hope by the next game which is the conference game we get that win will be 1-0 in the conference game which that’s matter,” he said.
In the 88 minutes of the game Andrew Valdez was taken out of the game as a result of a shoulder injury while he was playing in the field.
“I think he dislocated his shoulder when back he is going to see the doctor. Unfortunately it doesn’t look good I believe we going to miss him for a while,” said Coach Marote.
On Saturday, Sept. 10 Central Maine Community College defeated NECC Knights 6 to 1 in Aburn, Maine.
Before the game I had a chance to talk with NECC Soccer head coach Eusebio Marote.
“We’re hoping obviously to get a result today, long drive player’s got to make sure they are still focused today and I believe this team won their conference last year and they are going to be a tough opponent so we are just going to battle and match their intensity and hopefully get the result,” he said.
Coach Morate was right, it was a tough opponent for the Knights. The Knights were losing five to one at the end of the first half. Central Maine out scored the Knights 10 to 3 on shots on goal. The only goal for the Knights was Jonathan Diaz of Methuen who scored his third goal of the season just in two games.
The goal of Jonathan Diaz came in a penalty kick on 10 minutes of the game.
The first 11 minutes of the game they were combined of three goals.
Two of Central Maine and one for the Knights.
They were a lot of changes during the game, a lot of substitution players came in and came out back and forth during the course of the game.
I asked coach Marote about the struggle the Knights had in the first half they weren’t productive like on opening day as the Knights were in the slow starts.
Knights Soccer in action against Central Maine Community College Photo by Editor-In-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez
“Yeah, you know I think we started off a little slow our guys wasn’t ready for those first moment a couple of mistakes as of fouling and a crucial area they capitalize on their two chances so when they were up 2-0 you know very early it kinda put our guys heads down. I tried to motivate them to move forward, we did for a bit, we scored that goal it was 2-1 most of the first half until the last 15 to 20 minutes of the second half that’s when we ran out of gas…” he said after the game.
The Knights in the first half had three saves while Central Maine only had one. Central Maine only had five corner kicks and Northern Essex three in the first half. Central Maine also had six fouls while the Knights had three.
In the second half the Knights needed a miracle as they were down by four with just 45 minutes left in the game.
Coach Marote talked to his players during the half time to know they still in this game for a chance for a comeback and there is no quitting on this ball club. “I told them to keep their heads up to keep working,start the half new like it was 0-0 game. Tried to come back and scored couple more if we can unfortunately we couldn’t do that we were defending for a good amount of the game…” he said.
Central Maine were looking to increase their lead attacking the zone but they didn’t capitalize including one of the shots almost went in on the 76 minutes in into the game.
In the second half the referee was issuing yellow cards something that we did not see at all in the first half.
On the 54 minutes of the game Rayane Elmakhlouk of Methuen had a yellow card. 10 minutes later on the 64 minutes it was Ibrahim Dubai of Lewiston, Maine, who had a yellow card and finally for the Knights it was Sam De Amorim of Methuen.
Central Maine scored one more goal in the second half on the 80 minutes of the game. It was the second goal of the game of Romana Bassa of Lewiston, Maine. Both goals that he scored during the game were unassisted to make it 6 to 1.
“We need to focus on communication and just you know defending first, I mean that’s the main thing, defend,attack. The important thing we can improve o, focused on defending…” said NECC soccer player Fadi Serhan of Methuen.
He also said in the second half they were playing decent having control of the ball most of the time. The Knights had a few chances to score in the second half but they didn’t have luck as the ball didn’t pass through the goalkeeper.
In the second half the Knights had four shots on goal while Central Maine only had 10 shots on goal. Both the Knights and Central Maine had two corner kicks. The Knights had five saves while Central Maine only had two. Knights had five foul and Central Maine only had four.
On Thursday, Sept. 8 NECC Knights Women’s Volleyball lost three sets to none against New Hampshire Technical Institute (NHTI) in Concord, NH.
The Knights lost the first set 25-10, the second set 25-19 and the third set 25-12.
They arrived 30 minutes early before game time and they were practicing and warming up before the game.
The referees blew the whistle at 7:06 for the start of the game.
The first set NHTI scored the first two points of the game. Tabitha McMinniman of Bradford scored the first point for the Knights. The Knights were down 8 to 1 and 12 to 1 when head coach Mike Pelosi decided to use his first two timeouts of the game. Their third point of the game came by their captain Kaithlene Perez-Flores of Lowell. Once again McMinniman scored on that set and also their captain Perez-Flores. The Knights lost the first set 25 to 9.
Knights Volleyball against NHTI Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez
“I think the first set this is the first time we played as a team in a game, it was a good opponent. They are a solid team, a big crowd, wide open gym, noisy. I think they were nervous the caliber of play you saw today in the first it was nothing like you saw yesterday (during practice) it took them a while to gather their nerve. Unfortunately emotions are infectious so two of them were nervous it brought us the other one I think it took them a while to get them into the groove,” Coach Pelosi said.
During the second set the Knights were more focused and relaxed. After coach Pelosi called a time out what ever he said to his players worked. the Knights were on a 10-3 run to pull a comeback and made it 17 to 17 but wasn’t enough as NHTI answered back on a 8-2 run and the Knights lost the second set 25 to 19. The Knights were down two sets to none.
“I think we started getting excited once you get in a run you get excited you gain momentum you start working together better communicating and then the other team kinda got scared because they didn’t expect you to do that so it kinda all goes together, as a team really excited,” NECC Knights women’s volleyball player Caroline Burns of Haverhill said.
On the third set the Knights jumped over in front with scoring the first two points of the third set NHTI answer back having a 4-2 lead. The Knights tied the game at eight a piece then the Knight’s didn’t have nothing going as NHTI finished the third seat on a 17 to 4 run as the Knights lost 25 to 12 and lost on three straight sets.
I asked coach Pelosi after the game what the girls have to work on and to improve for the next game.
“I think serves see consistency is a big one, serves consistency this was our back up back up line up and I don’t say that as an excuse, we could’ve played better we (had) players playing in position that they normally wouldn’t be playing so I think working in a coordinative faction in the court leading the center take control the second ball composure some of the chaotic plays I think serving and offensively I don’t think we were being very strategic so being more strategic where we place the ball,” he said.
On Wednesday, Sept. 7 the NECC Knights Men’s Soccer team opened the 2022 campaign by defeating Southern Maine Community College 3 to 1 at Portland, Maine.
Both teams were warming up before the game doing their normal pre-game routine. The referee called the captain of both teams for a toss up to see who would get the ball first.
It was Southern Maine getting the ball first by winning the coin toss from Northern Essex.
The referee blew the whistle at 4:03 p.m. for the start of the game.
The Knights 10 minutes in into the game did a quick change — it was Sem Millambo of Lawrence who came in for Zack Mahaba of Boxford.
The Knights’ first foul came 15 minutes into the game by Andrew Valdez of Lawrence.
On the 26 minutes the Knights were awarded a penalty kick. It was Jonathan Diaz of Methuen who took the shot and scored the first point of the game to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
Knights Soccer warming up before there game against Southern Maine Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez
On the 31 minutes a foul was called on Jake Igoe of Haverhill. Southern Maine was awarded a free kick.
Six minutes between his first goal Diaz did it again, his second goal of the game put the Knights 2-0.
On the 41 minute the referee pulled a yellow card to Gabe Moreira of Dracut.
I had a chance to talk to head coach, Coach Eusebio Marote after the game and asked how important was having a 2-0 lead at the half.
“It’s huge we’re going into the second half, you know being in the good end of it …gives you more confidence that you finished off the game on top,” he said.
The Knights in the first half had nine shots on goal while Southern Maine had seven. The Knights also had three corner kicks while Southern Maine had none. Both teams committed three fouls while Knights goalkeeper had four saves in the first half and Southern Maine three. In the first half the Knights just had one yellow card while Southern Maine none.
On the 48 minutes of the game Sam De Amorim of Methuen cored the third goal of the game. All three goals for the Knights were unassisted, two from Diaz and one from De Amorim.
On the 52 minutes Matheus Moreira of Dracut was issued with another yellow card which means he had two yellow card which equals a red card. The Knights played the final 38 minutes with one man short.
On the 68 minutes the Knights goalie Anhuar Ramos Garcia of Nashua, New Hampshire, was issued a yellow card.
Coach Morate was issued a yellow card for arguing the call in the field during the 71 minutes of the game.
“I personally spoke one time about a foul on one of my players that I thought it was dangerous play, I think he didn’t see it, you know my players could get really seriously injured. I’m here for my players I had to talk about it because it got on scene overlooked, I think we deserve a penalty in that situation so it was a little miscommunication I guess with me and the ref. At the end of the day it is what it is I believe it was my first one as a coach so it’s going to happen one day,” he said.
Southern Maine first yellow card of the game came in the 74 minutes. It was David Wilson of Merrimac.
Emerson Murillo of Haverhill had a yellow card in the 75 minutes.
On the 82 minutes Laszlo Dorogi of West Boylston scored the first goal for Southern Maine, an assist of Eriksen Shea of Freeport, Maine.
Southern Maine outscored the Knights in the second half on shots on goal 14 to 3 .
“We were a man down like 38 minutes left in the game,so being with a man down obviously a lot more tired to go forward, you got to defend a little harder. Teams are putting a little bit more pressure on you so at that point you focusing on not allowing a goal keeping the lead three goal up so it’s a good cushion trying to defend out we finished it off,” Coach Marote said.
The Knights had four saves in the second half while Southern Maine one. Both teams had two corner kicks while the Knights had seven fouls and Southern Maine two.
The NECC Knights baseball team recently held tryouts for the next season.
Tryouts were held at Trinity stadium on Sept 1 at 9 a.m. for infielders and catchers and 10:30 a.m. for outfielders. All positions meet Sept. 2 at 10:30 a.m. at Trinity stadium.
Time commitment for the team is up heavy. Between practices and extra work will add up to a total of 40 hours a week. Skills needed are the ability to run, throw and pitch at a high level.
Team sports offers exercise to remain in shape and create friendships.
“That’s one of the best parts of the job to see the friendships born through athletics, blood, sweat and tears. The guys come together that will last a lifetime,” said Baseball Head coach Jeff Mejia.
A tryout does not guarantee a roster spot. The roster size for the team is limited to carrying 34 players at practice and in the spring the roster is trimmed down to 28. Roster cuts are among one of coach Mejia’s most unpleasant parts of the job, he said.
“We try to evaluate every student athlete as thoroughly as we can, but we take it very seriously because we realize if we are cutting a student athlete it may be the last time they ever play. That’s a very difficult part of the job, but a necessary part of the job,” Mejia said.
Every athlete in the previous seasons has brought their own equipment such as baseball gloves and bats, but some equipment can be provided if needed.
What coach Mejia is looking for in his athletes is “to be in good academic standing with the college” and “someone with the skill set good enough to be a good contributor to our baseball program.”
For additional information about baseball at NECC contact Jeff Mejia at jmejia@necc.edu
NECC Knights Women’s Volleyball are practicing and working really hard for this upcoming season. Their season is set to begin on Sept 8, against New Hampshire Tech on the road.
Their head coach is Mike Pelosi of Haverhill.
Coach Pelosi will be entering his fourth season managing the club.
Coach Pelosi and his coaching staff did a little work over the off-season to improve this volleyball team and hopefully when the season ends to reach the ultimate goal, which is winning the Region 21 championship.
“…I would say preparation will be the big piece, I think we had some good talented players last year but we just not spend a good quality time on the court to get our self prepared for the game we practice but I thought we could’ve practice harder and longer and then definitely getting there getting warmed up properly and be ready for the beginning of the match so those are two big areas I think we have a group that is much more committed this year and willing to put in all the time necessary to get us to that high level,” Coach Pelosi said.
One thing that Coach Pelosi learned from last season and wants to work on for this upcoming season he mentioned more buy in. “I think one thing as I’m trying to make more collaborate process with the players is there is more buy in. So rather for example coming into practice being on time rather than just sanding out of the player punish them if they don’t comply actually having them come together and create their own set of rules so they can hold each other accountable,” he said.
Coach Pelosi said before he recruits a player to be on the team he looks at their attitude and determines if a certain player will fit in or not on his team.
“I look at attitude a lot I think assistant Coach Marissa [Reardon] and I are very good at teaching the sports, so attitude it’s a big piece so if we have a player show up consistently have a positive optimistic outlook making effort to get along with their teammates and a big one is accept feedback, if they want to accept feedback and put in a good effort that’s critical. We also look for a lot of fundamental skills and I would say basic athleticism it’s pretty important thing so we can get them we can progress them very quickly on their volleyball skills if they already had good hand coordination and a good balance and also players that are willing to fill in a role it’s very helpful…” he said.
Coach Pelosi and I talked about the team members that they lost last year either because of academic issues or transferring to another college/university.
NECC Women’s Volleyball practicing and getting prepared for the season Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez
He mentioned to me “… When I first took over the position I set certain bench marks for myself to measure my own success the first one that comes to mind is win record but that’s not the only one. Another one of my major bench mark is attention retention rate. How many players come back and it’s consistently been lower than I hope. I was hoping for at least 50 percent or higher retention rate. We usually about 30 percent of a third of the players come back. Initially I interpreted that maybe I can do things a little bit better but I had conversations with other volleyballs coaches from other community colleges and find that that number is fairly consistent so we do lose a lot of players. We have some players transferring out that’s one thing, academics is always a challenge so we tried to provide a lot of suggestion and support for players academically to help them be successful academically…” he said.
One of the returning athletes who is playing in her second year for the Knights Women’s Volleyball team is Ashley Dominguez of Lawrence. Dominguez last season for the Knights played in just 10 matches.
I asked her the adjustment that she and her teammates are doing to become a better volleyball player than what they already are.
“I think that all of us had made pretty good adjustment we trying to make sure that we be consistent with serves, consistent with getting all those balls even if their out. I think we just making little tweaks that is going to help us in the long run hopefully,” Dominguez said.
They still don’t quite have a lot of chemistry together but they are on the right path. “I think right know we’re getting our chemistry, we’re learning a lot from each other, we are learning how we played, we are learning how we communicate on and off the court in our own way to make our team successful,” she said.
One difference that she noticed this season than last year is the team as a whole is bonding faster and she hopes that will transfer over in the court.
One of the recruits for this upcoming season is Eliany DeJesus of Lowell.
I asked her if she played women’s volleyball in high school and does she thinks the competition is going to be harder now in college?
“Yes, I did play women’s volleyball at Lowell High School and I do think the competition is going to be a lot harder just because it is the collegiate level but I can’t wait for what the season has to bring for me and my girls,” she said.
Is she nervous or excited for the season to start in a few days?
“I am some-what in between just because I have taken volleyball off for a year but I know that with practice we will get it together and work great as a team,” she said.
She also said to me one area that she got better in was serving and she has been more consistent with her toss. One area that she would like to work on more is passing the ball to her teammates.
In order for her to stay on her school work and not be left behind in her courses she is going to use the support that Northern Essex has, which is academic coaching and academic advising.
She is currently majoring in Criminal Justice.
Another recruit for this upcoming season that will be playing for the Women’s Volleyball team is Eliany’s twin sister Kiana DeJesus of Lowell.
“I feel high school and college it’s a very different level. I played at Greater Lowell Technical High School and Kingsborough for about three years and took one year off and the way that we played high school it’s very different from collegiate volleyball but I also think high school does give you a little prep… but overall college volleyball it’s a little bit harder than high school volleyball,” she said.
She is very excited for the season to begin this upcoming Thursday and to see different talent and bonding more with her teammates and be a better volleyball player than what she already is.
Some of the improvement she has made is that she is better at is reading the ball and getting there faster she wants to improve on confidence, she said. She mentioned to me that she has “lack of confidence”.
She had different offers to play in college for example Salem State and SNHU. She choose Northern Essex because her family lives in Haverhill and Lawrence.
She is looking forward to creating memories with her teammates during the season. “Memories last a life-time and people could be here today gone tomorrow but I’m looking forward to the memories, bus ride home, the laughter, hanging out as a team,” she said.
On March 17 David Tousignant of Lowell arrived at NECC to serve as the next head coach for the Men and Women’s Varsity cross-country program. Athletic director, Dan Blair announced the hiring.
“He has good experience at the high school level throughout the region and I think that will translate here at the college,” Blair said regarding the hire.
The newly appointed head coach has ambitious plans for improving the cross-country program “I know that the baseball team was in the junior college World Series and the basketball team has been very successful. I want our runners to be talked to in the same breath as the baseball and basketball teams,” Tousignant said. “I hope to make cross-country and track and field more synonymous with NECC much like baseball and basketball.” Tousignant is also planning on partnering with head track and field coach, Nelson Desilvestre to help bring cross-country and track and field into the forefront of NECC sports.
Tousignant has also expressed a desire for an Alumni run in the fall.
“Next fall I would like to see an alumni road race as a fundraiser for the school. Get people, administrators, teachers, alumni, have a day to get back on campus just kind of draw everyone around the program,” he said.
The first practice of the 2022 season will be held Monday Aug. 15th. The season will begin in the fall and end in the winter. The team is open to men and women. There are no roster cuts in the program. Practice lasts about an hour and a half and meets usually take place on Saturdays. A key part of practice is building endurance and cardio needed for long distance running. Tousignant tailors his practices to be enjoyable and fit in easily to a student athlete’s daily routine.
Overall athleticism is a point of emphasis Tousignant has in his training regimen which he plans on teaching each of his athletes.
“As you can imagine running an 8k (five + miles) is nothing short of stress on the body, which is why we focus so much on overall athleticism and not just miles and miles,” he said.
Cross Country head coach David Tousignant Courtesy of neccknights.com
Cross-country athletes endure a difficult and physically demanding workout regime. Tousignant who was also a student athlete in college and high school explained how he can relate to the strenuous activities that his cross-country athletes go through.
“I run road races, it helps me to relate to the athletes themselves so when they start talking about how they feel after running six miles in the morning, I have done that. It helps me to relate to what they are talking about, it is not outside my comfort zone, and they talk about the feeling in their calves or their quads, I have probably had that same feeling myself. It helps them realize I have gone through my own program so to speak. It helps me understand what they are talking about,” Tousignant said.
Cross country is also a demanding phycological sport as well. “Endurance and long-distance runners can already run, what’s most important is mental and phycological focus on fighting through the physical demands of the sport,” Tousignant said.
Although this will be Tousignant’s first season coaching at the college level, he still brings plenty of coaching experience to the table. For the last 20 years he coached at high schools in schools in the Merrimack Valley. He is currently serving as a coach at Lincoln Sudbury Regional High school. Tousignant previously served on coaching staffs at Greater Lowell high school, Burlington and Tewksbury high schools and Norte Dame Academy.
Prior to coaching Tousignant spent 38 years in law enforcement as a Detective Sergeant for the Lowell police department. During Tousignant’s interview with Blair for the head coaching position Tousignant quipped “This is funny, I’m usually the one asking questions,” he said.
Tousignant first entered coaching in 2001. While he was working as a detective sergeant, his wife’s cousin remembered that he participated in Track and field in high school and college and asked if he could coach the team at their school for the season. Tousignant agreed, enjoyed it, and has coached every season since “My secondary career was born,” he said.
Tousignant has a wife, Susan of 38 years and they have a daughter, Lauren who is a writer in New York City. Susan has served as a teacher for nearly 50 years. Tousignant enjoys spending time remaining active by running and exercising at the gym.
For more information on the cross-country program contact David Tousignant at dtousignant@NECC.Edu or Athletic director Dan Blair at dblair@NECC.Edu
Last season NECC Soccer had a rough year. They are looking to bounce back this upcoming season and hopefully winning the ultimate goal which is winning a Region 21 championship.
They are working really hard over the summer to prepare for this upcoming season and looking for a different result than last year and to turn the page.
NECC soccer head coach is Coach Eusebio Morate, Morate told me some of the improvements that they did for this upcoming season.
“… What we did was we recruited hard we went to a lot of high school games local schools like Methuen, Haverhill, Lowell, Winter tech and stuff like that,.” “We got some new recruits this year, I think we have nine new returners and about 10 to 11 recruits so this year we should have more depth in the bench that will help us, guys will get tired well have some good sub in the bench to keep the game level high…” he said.
Coach Morate talking to his players before practice Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez
I asked coach Morate a hard question I ask him which returner that was on the team last year that is in the team this year that he is most impressed by?
“It’s a hard one I believe all the guys thatcame back last year and worked hard this summer… a couple in particular Zack [Mohaba] and Javier [Bushell], two guys that are leaders on the team they been running captain throughout the summer always communicating with me and see how the guys are doing so I think they will be impactful players for us this year,” he said.
Samuel De Amorim of North Andover got recruited by Coach Marote and his coaching staff.De Amorim got recruited during a soccer game that he played against Dracut he also had offer to play for Quincy University.
“ I chose NECC [be]cause I like how coach talk to me I like how he came up to me and showed me everything here and that’s pretty much it”De Amorim said.
Zak Mahaba of Boxford it’s know playing in his second year for the Knights “Me personally I just been non stop grinding during the off-season in the gym in the field…” he said.Also Mahaba said that he has faith on the team.
Education it’s a big issue if you don’t have your grades up you can’t play sports. So, I ask Mohaba how he is able to stay on track with his school work while playing soccer ?
“For me personally I usually have my classes in the mornings from the morning until practice I’m in the libraryeating lunch and doing my school work until practice” Mohaba said.Mohaba he currently majoring in computer engineer.
On Saturday May 14 the NECC Knights were looking to defeat Monroe Express to become district champions and earn trip to the NJCAA World Series. In Trinity Staduim in Haverhill, Mass.
The Knights won 13-3 and advanced to the NJCAA World Series for the eight time in school history.
The Knights went one two three in the first inning.
The Knights had Todd Tringale of Saugus on the mound.
Tringale quickly got the first two outs. Joseph Rosario of New York got on base and Ernie Farrell of Corona, N.Y. ground out to the second basemen Chris Bear of Boston for the final out of the inning.
In the top of the second inning with one out in the inning Richard Matos de La Cruz of Boston hit a base hit up the middle. Clay Campbell of Goffstown, N.H., got hit by pitch and the Knights had first and second with one out when Logan Burrill of Amesbury hit the ball towards the third base and got on base on a bad hop. Lucas Berube of Dighton hit a fly ball to centerfield that scored Matos De La Cruz from third. Kameron Levesque of Haverhill on the first pitch he saw he hit an opposite field base hit that scored the second run of the game. Williams’ RBI single made it 3-0. The Knights had first and second with two out with Chris Bear of Boston at the plate when Levesque stole third, Williams stole second in the next pitch. Bear delivered clutch a 2 run RBI single that made it 5-0 Knights as Bear went to second as the ball went behind the catcher. White ground out to second to end the bottom of the second inning.
Tringale had a 5 run lead when he came to pitch in the bottom of the second and retired the three batters that he faced for a one, two, three inning.
In the top of third inning with two outs Campbell singled between left and center and Burill single the first pitch that he saw. Berube was at the plate when the pitcher allowed two passed that scored the sixth run of the game. The catcher got injured sliding trying to get the passed ball He was removed out of the game. Berube made it 7-0 with a base hit. Levesque hit a short roller to the pitcher for the final out of the inning.
NECC Knights team holding the Northeastern District trophy in the pitching mound Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez
In the bottom of the third with one out Tringale walked Quinn Kilroy of Arlington and Juan Jorge of Bronx N.Y. which brought the pitching coach Evan Glew at the mound to talked to Tringale. What ever Glew told Tringale it worked. The very next pitch Rosario ground out to an inning ending double play and Tringale was fired up coming off the mound.
In the top of the third William got things going as he doubled the first pitch that he saw. The Knights had runners in scoring position with nobody out. Bear was at the plate when wild pitch sent Williams to third and Bear walked. The Knights had runners in the corner for White. The Knights put a double steal to score the 8th run of the game. Bear stoled second and Williams stoled home.
Coppola hit an RBI triple to make it 9-0 Knights. Matos De La Cruz of Boston hit a sac fly at the warning track right at the wall that it almost was a 2 run homer.
That would be it for Rodriguez Bello as Monroe Express brought in a a new pitcher Franklin Caminero of Bronx, N.Y.. Coppola stole second and Burrill struck out to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth Tringale gave up a lead off hit to Diaz then he quickly got the first two outs. Salomon Lluveres of Providence R.I, single and Monroe College Express had two men on with two outs when Jose Ramirez of Bronx, N.Y. ground out to Bear at second to end the inning.
In the top of the fifth inning with two outs Williams hit a base hit up the middle and when Bear was batting Williams went to third on a wild pitch from all the way to first. Bear ground out to second to end the top half of the fifth inning.
Tringale on his fifth inning of work got the first two outs quickly. He gave up a single to Juan Jorge of Bronx, N.Y. as he stole second. A great throw by Berube but Campbell did not come up cleanly to tag the runner to end the inning. Jorge fled out to left field to end the inning.
In top of the sixth inning the Knights did not score for the second straight inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning the Knights were in trouble. Monroe had first and third and nobody out. Pitching coach Glew came to talk to his pitcher. Lluveres (have you mentioned him before?) hit a fly ball to left field for the first out of the inning. The runner on third came home on a sac fly and the runner on second went to third. Coach Jeff Mejia appealed it on second and the runner was out as the runner tagged up early. The Knights brought Tyler McDonald of Haverhill to the mound. He walked Ruben Ogando of Providence R.I, on a 0-2 pitch. McDonald hit Anthony Gonzalez Jr. of Bronx on the hand. Monroe Express had the bases loaded when McDonald walked Gutierrez to force in a run. Jorge hit a fly ball to second base to end the inning.
The Knights were up 10-2 heading to the top of the seventh inning.
In the seventh inning the Knights had the bases loaded with two outs when Bear hit a grounthd ball to third to end the top of the 7th inning.
The Knights broughtg Alex Sweeney of Raymond on the mound to pitch the seven inning.
Sweeney pitched a 1,2,3 inning.
In the top of the 8th inning Monroe brough Gavyn Soto of New York, N.Y. to the mound. Coppola hit a home run to left field that made it 11-2 Knights. That was the only run for the Knights that inning.
In the bottom of the 8th inning the Knights brought Joseph Settle of Melbourne, Fla., to left field. Monroe Express only scored one run in the 8th. The Knights were up 11-3 heading towards the ninth.
Monroe Express brought a new pitcher to pitch the ninth, it was Ramsel Jerez of New York. Berube hit a ground ball to third but went to second on a throwing error. Levesque hit a high fly ball to the first base side. Itt was enough for Berube to tag to go to third and he scored on a wild pitch while Williams was batting. and Bear walked White hit an RBI double to made it 13-3 Knights. Coppola got hit by pitch. Matos de la Cruz was up with the bases loaded when he struck out looking for the second out of the inning. Campbell flied out to center to end the inning as the Knights left the bases loaded.
