NECC Soccer, Volleyball both appear in NJCAA Week 8 national polls
The Northern Essex Community College men’s soccer and women’s volleyball teams both find themselves among the nation’s best, as both are featured in their respective NJCAA Week 8 national polls.
Haverhill, MA (October 16, 2023) – The Northern Essex Community College men's soccer and women's volleyball teams both find themselves among the nation's best, as both are featured in their respective NJCAA Week 8 national polls.
For men's soccer, it is the programs first ever appearance in the top ten poll checking in at 10, as the Knights are currently winners of six straight games and boast a 9-2-1 overall record and a 6-0-1 record in Region 21 play. With one game remaining in the regular season, NECC controls its fate, as a win will secure the top seed in next week's Region 21 Tournament. NECC can finish no lower than second in the final standings.
Leading the way for NECC is the freshman duo of Jadiel Bonfim (Nashua, NH) and Kaleb Gianini (Lowell) who have scored 20 and 15 goals respectively on the season. The 20 goals for Bonfim currently rank him third nationally in goals, he also has five assists on the season to total 45 points and rank fourth in that category. Jonathan Diaz (Methuen) has handed out a team high 11 assists on the season which has him two behind the nationally leader.
As a team, the Knights have scored 51 goals in 12 games which ranks eighth in the country.
On the court, NECC volleyball continues its best season and returned to the number 15 position in the poll the week after falling out of the week seven poll. The Knights remain undefeated on the season with an 18-0 record as they prepare to conclude regular season play this week.
The Lawrence duo of Abigail Heredia and Vielka Sanchez continue to lead the attack for the Knights as Heredia currently ranks second nationally with .430 kill percentage and Sanchez ranks second with 1.91 aces per set.
In the team category, the Knights are fourth nationally in kill percentage hitting at .304.
Following the conclusion of the regular season, both Knights squad will participate in the Region 21 tournaments looking to punch their programs tickets to their first ever respective national championship tournaments. Region 21 champions will be crowned in volleyball on October 28th and men's soccer on October 29th.