Haverhill, MA (October 29th, 2023) – The Northern Essex Community College men's soccer team saw their season come to a close on Sunday evening as they fell in the Region 21/Northeast District Championship by a 4-1 final to Bunker Hill, who advances to the eight team national championship tournament in Gastonia, NC. NECC finishes their season as Region 21 regular season champions with an overall record of 11-3-1.
Jadiel Bonfim (Nashua, NH) struck first for the Knights as they he spotted the home team a 1-0, 10 minutes into the contest. Ronan Harrington (Newburyport) earned the assist on the goal.
NECC would hang onto the lead till halftime, before Bunker Hill erupted for four second half goals. The Bulldogs tied the game in the 54th minute and took the lead they would not relinquish two minutes later. They would add goals in the 74th and 87th minutes to account for the final score.
For Bonfim, it was his 27th goal of the season, which ranks second in the nation in advance of the national tournament.
For the match NECC took nine shots and Will Paganini (Derry, NH) and Hadi Eid (Pelham, NH) combined to make 12 stops in net for the Knights.