ROSSMAN AND VALKEMA SCORE EARLY IN CONFERENCE OPENER FOR NO. 2 NORTHEAST

NORFOLK, Neb. – The No. 2 Northeast Community College men's soccer team began the conference portion of their season Saturday afternoon with a clash against Iowa Central Community College. The Hawks came out on top in the match by a final score of 4-0.

Northeast (8-1, 1-0 ICCAC) struck first as midfielder Gabriel Rossman (Vitoria, Brazil) found the back of the net for the second time this year just three minutes into the contest with an assist from Jochem Ostendorp (Doetinchem, Netherlands). Len Valkema (Leewarden, Netherlands) scored in the ninth minute to put the Hawks ahead 2-0 within the first 10 minutes of play.

Goalkeeper Oscar Juhl-Larsen (Solrod Strand, Denmark) secured his second clean sheet of the week as Northeast will now look ahead to a road test against No. 6 Western Iowa Tech in a match pitting two of the nation's best against each other, and the two schools happen to have their main campuses only 80 miles apart.

STAT SHEET:

Goals: Gabriel Rossman (Vitoria, Brazil), Len Valkema (Leewarden, Netherlands), Felix Bomber (Regensburg, Germany)

Assists: Jochem Ostendorp (Doetinchem, Netherlands), Ellis Oksman (Omaha, Neb.)

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:

Head Men's Soccer Coach Adam Potter on the conference opener Saturday:

"Guys raised to the occasion and got a shutout," Potter said. "We got three points and a 1-0 start in conference play. You can't be happier than that. We have to know that we need to be a little bit more efficient going forward and harder in our transition defense going into our next match against Western Iowa Tech."

Potter on the ranked showdown against WIT upcoming on Wednesday:

"Obviously, it's going to be an awesome game," Potter said. "It's going to feel like a national tournament setting. They have a couple of top 10 wins already and we have a couple of top 10 wins. It's going to be a physical battle. Both teams are battle tested, and that's why you love this conference. You get to keep pushing yourself and growing. Should be a fun day."

UP NEXT:

The Hawks will head to Western Iowa Tech Community College for a matchup against the No. 6 Comets at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in Sioux City, Iowa.

HAWKS HAPPENINGS:

For all the latest information on Northeast Hawks Athletics, please visit northeasthawks.com. For updates and other exciting content, follow:

@northeastcchawks on Facebook

@northeasthawks on Instagram

@northeasthawks on TikTok

@NortheastHawks on Twitter/X

@NortheastCCMS on Twitter/X