HISTORIC SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE FOR NO. 1 HAWKS

TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 1 Northeast Community College men's soccer team competed in the 2023 NJCAA DII Men's Soccer Championship Semifinals for the first time in school history Thursday at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona against No. 4 Iowa Lakes Community College. The Lakers came out on top by a final score of 2-1 to conclude what was a history-making season for the Hawks.

Northeast (22-2, 8-0 ICCAC) had downed Iowa Lakes in the two previous meetings of the squads on September 27 and on October 29 but struggled to find the back of the net in the third meeting of the two best teams Region 11 had to offer in 2023. Sergio Aspas (Valencia, Spain) put in the only goal that the Hawks had on the day in the 88th-minute to score his second of the 2023 tournament and his fourth of his career at the national tournament. Northeast hurried to hopefully put in another goal in the final minute, but it was too little too late as the Lakers were able to hang on. In total, none of the six Iowa Lakes goals that the Hawks conceded on the year to the Lakers came in the run of play.

On September 18, Northeast was given the No. 1 national ranking and held onto that spot for the final three months of the season. The Hawks amassed endless records during the year and won a Region 11 title, a Plains District title and were victorious twice at the national tournament. The 22 wins were a program record and the 43-5-1 record that the sophomore class totaled was the highest win percentage by any sophophomore class in any program at Northeast in the NJCAA era. The Hawks ended the season with the most shots in the country with 644, 152 more than CCBC Essex in second with 492.

STAT SHEET:

Goal: Sergio Aspas (Valencia, Spain)

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:

Head Men's Soccer Coach Adam Potter on the defeat to the Lakers:

"Hats off to Iowa Lakes," Potter said. "That's a fantastic team. We were No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation for the majority of the season this year. It's hard to beat a great team three times. They got the best of us today. I felt like we had our chances and opportunities, and we just didn't capitalize on the moments to put the game away. They are a well-coached team and a great team overall. They are a fun team to battle against. Compliments to our region to have two teams in the final four. What a competitive league for these players to grow and develop in."

Potter on what he will remember about this squad:

"As a team, one game doesn't define a year," Potter said. "It doesn't define a season. This group will be forever remembered in history. Regardless of what people say, this group was the first team at Northeast to ever be No. 1 in the nation. They held that almost all year long. They won a region title, they won a district title and they won the most games in program history. They were the first team in school history to make a national semifinal. Historical things. They led the nation in shutouts. They had a ton of goals scored. We didn't concede that many goals. Up and down the board just records after records that were shattered and broken by this group. We talked last year about how this is what we wanted. We wanted to keep growing year over year. You can see that there was unbelievable leadership from the sophomores. Unbelievable commitment, unbelievable drive and hunger from those guys. Now we want that same hunger and desire from the freshmen that are now going to be sophomores. We want to keep that tradition high of what Northeast Men's Soccer is. We want to continue to fight at that national level. We are excited about the future of this place while giving compliments and kudos to what this season was. People of Norfolk, people of the community, people of the campus and ourselves should all be proud of what these men have done and how they have represented the school. You aren't just gifted to be in a final four. That's something we should be proud of and praise. At the end of the day, there can only be one champ. These guys have made tremendous sacrifices and have made me proud. I know a lot of people on campus in the community are proud too. I couldn't be more proud of all that these guys have accomplished on and off the field and all of the adversity that they have faced. Obviously, it's not the storybook ending, but this season was a great accomplishment by these guys."

THANK YOU:

Northeast Athletics would like to extend a huge thank you to our sophomores, the families of our student-athletes, our amazing fans and all our supporters for making this year such a memorable one! We can't wait to see you in 2024!

HAWKS HAPPENINGS:

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