Northeast men’s soccer set to make strides in new season

NORFOLK, Neb. – Coming off their first-ever win in postseason play, the Northeast men's soccer team is eager to keep building momentum when they open the season against Western Nebraska Community College at 3 p.m. tomorrow at Veterans Memorial Park in Norfolk.

The Hawks marched into the postseason last year after securing three wins in their final five games of the season. All-American Hugo Santos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) led the Hawks to a 3-0 victory over Dakota County Technical College in the first round of the Region XI Tournament. The Hawks finished the season with an overall record of 7-8, their best since the start of the program six years ago.

Santos, a returning First Team All-Region player, scored 16 goals for the Hawks in a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our guys have to remember the things that lead us to our best season ever at Northeast," head coach Chad Miller said. "If we can keep that going and get the freshmen to buy in, we can hopefully continue right from the start this year."

Miller will look to goalie Jyson Breitbarth (Hilo, Hawaii), Mateo Keep (Cali, Colombia), Mano Veldt (Bussum, Netherlands), David Evans Jr. (Lakewood, Colo.), Carlos Jimenez (Littleton, Colo.), Conner Bickford (Arvada, Colo.) and Santos to propel the Hawks back to the Region XI Tournament and beyond.

"The sophomores have to keep the momentum of our late-season success," Miller added. "They have to get the freshmen to buy into what we are doing and get the season started with the momentum we built at the end of last season."

Freshmen Slayde Stokes (Gold Coast, Queensland), Chad Le Roux (Kensington, South Africa), Caio Carrara (Santo Andre, Brazil), Paul Einero (Cape Town, South Africa) Anderson Roberts (St. Augustine, Trinidad) and Joan Saborit (Castellon, Spain) will be counted on to provide depth and at many positions.

"I expect the freshmen class to fill some roles that were lacking last season," Miller said. "We had a hard-working group last season, but there were a few missing roles. If these freshmen come in and fill those roles, the guys could see some success."

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