NYS AND ELMOSE SEND NO. 5 NORTHEAST TO NJCAA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH WITH VICTORY OVER NO. 1 PIMA

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The No. 5 Northeast Community College men's soccer team took on No. 1 Pima Community College Thursday night at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama in the 2024 NJCAA DII Men's Soccer Championship Semifinal. The Hawks and Aztecs finished tied at 2-2 at the end of regulation and overtime with the Hawks coming out on top in a penalty shootout by a final score of 5-3.

Northeast (20-1-3) fell behind 2-0 in the match as Pima put in goals in the 24th minute and the 30th minute to take a lead into the halftime break. Falling behind was not an unfamiliar sight for the Hawks as they trailed Monday night against No. 9 Mercer County Community College before rallying back in overtime to win 2-1 and also were down 1-0 and 2-1 to No. 4 Phoenix College on Tuesday night. Edouard Nys (Dottignies, Belgium) put in a penalty kick in the 56th minute to cut the deficit in half before Marius Elmose (Viby, Denmark) scored his fifth goal of the national tournament with just 10 minutes left to tie the showdown at 2-2.

Neither team could find the back of the net at the end of regulation or in overtime as the matchup shifted into a penalty shootout. Len Valkema (Leewarden, Netherlands), Tobias Gerber (Weiden, Germany), Hugo Munter (Roskilde, Denmark) and Alexander Pritchard (Stockport, England) all made their penalty kicks while Northeast goalkeeper Mathias Kristoffersen (Skovby, Denmark) saved the fourth attempt from the Aztecs to allow Nys to step up to the box with a chance to send the Hawks to the final. The sophomore and national leader in both goals and assists buried the penalty to give the Northeast the opportunity to play for the school's first NJCAA National Championship on Saturday.

STAT SHEET:

Goals: Edouard Nys (Dottignies, Belgium), Marius Elmose (Viby, Denmark)

Assists: Ludovico Vicini (Modena, Italy)

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:

Head Men's Soccer Coach Adam Potter on his team claiming the victory in the National Semifinal against No. 1 Pima:

"Awesome stage, awesome venue," Potter said. "The biggest word that you can use over and over again is resiliency. What a resilient group it is. This group just doesn't quit. We have a winner's win mentality. They don't stop no matter who goes on the field. We had guys step on the field tonight that hadn't played. Balthazar Pottier (Paris, France) went in and started for us. Archie Woodall hasn't really played all tournament and plays about 60 minutes. Guys are just continuing to raise the level of their game all tournament long."

Potter on advancing to the NJCAA Championship Match for the first time in program history:

"It's huge," Potter said. "Obviously, it's a huge accomplishment for the boys. Huge accomplishment for the city, the school and everything else like that. What a huge accomplishment, but the job is not done. We have more. Here we go. We just have to rest up. We have to really use our athletic trainer, Cale Strong, who is here with us. He has been a real blessing to have on this trip to help our guys get back on the field quicker. It's awesome that we have a rest day tomorrow to refresh our bodies and to be able to go back to war on Saturday."

Potter on the chance to compete for a title on Saturday:

"You have the opportunity to go and play in the national championship," Potter said. "There's only so many people in any sport who get to say that they get to play for a national title. We get the opportunity to do just that, and we are excited to get rolling."

UP NEXT:

The Hawks will have the opportunity to bring the first NJCAA National Championship back to Northeast in school history as they will battle No. 2 Neosho County Community College at 3 p.m. Saturday at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama in the NJCAA Championship Match.

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