ROURKE SCORES TWO LATE TO SEND NO. 1 HAWKS TO REGION 11 TOURNAMENT FINAL

NORFOLK, Neb. – The No. 1 Northeast Community College men's soccer team hosted the Region 11 Tournament Semifinals Tuesday at Norfolk Veterans Memorial Field in Norfolk against No. 18 Southeastern Community College. The Hawks took the matchup by a final score of 3-2 to advance to the Region 11 Tournament Final on Saturday.

Northeast (18-1-1, 10-0 ICCAC) was named the No. 1 team in the nation on Monday in the Week Nine 2024 NJCAA DII Men's Soccer Poll in what was just the second time in school history that a Hawks athletic program claimed the top spot in the nation. Northeast and the visiting Blackhawks played to a 0-0 draw during the first half but Edouard Nys (Dottignies, Belgium) put in a penalty kick for his 26th goal of the season three minutes into the second half. Southeastern pulled ahead 2-1 before Lewis Rourke (Nottingham, England) found the back of the net with 15 minutes remaining in the showdown to tie the contest and then buried another goal just two minutes later to secure the victory for Northeast.

The Hawks will now battle No. 2 Iowa Lakes Community College at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Norfolk Veterans Memorial Field in the Region 11 Tournament Championship in what will be a battle of the two top teams in the nation. Northeast defeated the Lakers in a matchup between No. 1 and No. 3 in the regular season last year, downed Iowa Lakes in last year's Region 11 Tournament Championship when the two squads were No. 1 and No. 2, fell to the Lakers in the 2023 NJCAA DII Men's Soccer Championship Semifinals and then topped Iowa Lakes on October 23 when the Lakers were ranked No. 1 and the Hawks were ranked No. 3.

Saturday's match will be just the second time in the history of Northeast Athletics that a match between No. 1 and No. 2 will take place at home.

STAT SHEET:

Goals: Edouard Nys (Dottignies, Belgium), Lewis Rourke (Nottingham, England) (2)

Assists: Owen Rutledge (Omaha, Neb.), Edouard Nys, Luca Rosen (London, England)

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:

Head Men's Soccer Coach Adam Potter on his team responding from the 2-1 deficit to take the victory:

"It's a common theme in big games that our team gets punched in the face and handles the adversity and is able to fight back," Potter said. "It's something that we learned with our early-season loss that the game is not over. Our guys learned that and now know how to handle adversity. They kept their heads and kept their composure. When the emotions got high, our guys acted like they had been here before."

Potter on the two goals from Lewis Rourke to send the Hawks to the championship:

"Big-time players come up with big-time plays in big moments and that's a huge win against a ranked team," Potter said. "They have been a national power. Lewis Rourke came in and had two big plays to push us over the top to go to the region final."

Potter on what it means for Northeast and the city of Norfolk as a whole to host a matchup between No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation on Saturday:

"I don't think anyone wants it any other way," Potter said. "I think it's fantastic. I think it's an opportunity for the city of Norfolk to have No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation on our field in Norfolk, Nebraska. Let's get people out and let's get support out here. We should be so excited as a city and as a college to have an opportunity to host a game like that with hardware on the line. We know every time we play them that it's always a crazy and adverse kind of game. These are the kind of games you want to play in, and we get an opportunity to host it at our field!"

UP NEXT:

The Hawks will compete in the Region 11 Tournament Championship and will take on No. 2 Iowa Lakes Community College at 3 p.m. Saturday at Norfolk Veterans Memorial Field in Norfolk.

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