NO. 5 HAWKS ADVANCE TO NATIONAL SEMIFINAL BEHIND SIX GOALS TUESDAY

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The No. 5 Northeast Community College men's soccer team competed in their second match in as many days Tuesday night in Huntsville, Alabama against No. 4 Phoenix College in Game 3 of Pool D at the 2024 NJCAA DII Men's Soccer Championship. The Hawks were victorious by a final score of 6-2 to advance to the national semifinal for the second-straight year.

Northeast (20-1-2, 9-0 ICCAC) was eliminated by Phoenix at the 2022 NJCAA DII Men's Soccer Championship and the Hawks had their sights set on avenging that defeat this time around. Northeast reached their 20th victory of the campaign in dramatic fashion as they fell behind 1-0 in the first minute of the ballgame in pouring rain before Lewis Rourke (Nottingham, England) tied the showdown in the seventh minute. The Bears scored again in the 21st minute and led 2-1 at halftime, but Len Valkema (Leewarden, Netherlands) evened the scoreboard in the 62nd minute. Edouard Nys (Dottignies, Belgium) found the back of the net in the 71st minute, which led to a plethora of goals for the Hawks as Marius Elmose (Viby, Denmark) in the 73rd minute and Tobias Gerber (Weiden, Germany) in the 79th minute all scored to put Northeast up 5-2 with just 10 minutes left to play.

Marius Elmose (Viby, Denmark) put in his fourth goal in the last two days in the 89th minute for good measure as the Hawks officially advanced to the final four for the second time in the last two years. No. 1 Pima Community College, No. 2 Neosho County Community College and No. 3 Iowa Lakes Community College all won their pools as Northeast was the only team that was not a top-four seed to advance to the semifinals. The Hawks will battle in the first game of the semi's as they will take on No. 1 Pima at 3 p.m. Thursday at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama.

STAT SHEET:

Goals: Lewis Rourke (Nottingham, England), Len Valkema (Leewarden, Netherlands), Edouard Nys (Dottignies, Belgium), Marius Elmose (Viby, Denmark) (2), Tobias Gerber (Weiden, Germany)

Assists: Edouard Nys (2), Soeren Hermansen (Varde, Denmark), Lucas Van Den Berg (Eindhoven, Netherlands), Lewis Rourke, Humberto Benavidez (Homestead, Fla.)

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:

Head Men's Soccer Coach Adam Potter on his team falling behind early in the match before rallying back:

"Obviously, we came out flat footed early to start," Potter said. "They jumped on us. We see it all the time that no one is getting rattled. Everyone believes every single time no matter what is going on. We went back really quickly and tied it up. Then it was 2-1 and again our guys are just so resilient and have so much grit, fight and belief in themselves and each other. I told the guys that if they stayed calm, composed and relaxed, they could beat anyone. They just have to stay calm and stick to the game plan."

Potter on his team putting it all together to pour six goals in:

"If they understand what they need to do, they could beat anyone," Potter said. "They showed that with their resiliency. We walked into halftime and I knew we had created so many actions to be unlucky and not level at halftime. Really good stuff by the guys. Way to stick together throughout the game. We got Len back and he came up with a big-time goal to tie the game up and then the show began. Mr. Elmose put on a production."

Potter on eliminating Phoenix two seasons after being sent home by them:

"It was really cool to see that two years ago we got knocked out by Phoenix and we had the opportunity to play against them in a very similar game," Potter said. "They have been in the top two or three all season long and we sent them home. It was cool to see the growth of the program and see the development of where we have come from."

Potter on battling No. 1 Pima in the national semifinal on Thursday:

"Now, here's the stage and it's about taking that next step," Potter said. "Facing a team that's ranked number one, and we have an opportunity to go against the favorites. We get to go and play in an awesome USL stadium. We're pumped. This is exciting. There is nothing more exciting than this. We get to go and make some noise. We get to play another Arizona team, a team that we haven't played since I've been here. It will be a really cool opportunity and a really fun time. Another opportunity for us to conquer the day."

UP NEXT:

The Hawks will battle in a win-or-go-home contest against No. 1 Pima Community College at 3 p.m. Thursday at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama.

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