Haverhill, MA (September 1, 2024) – The Northern Essex Community College men's soccer team kicked off their 2024 campaign on Saturday afternoon and dropped a hard fought battle to perennial division two contender Mercer County (NJ) Community College by a 4-1 final score.

The Knights fell behind 1-0 in the games ninth minute before Knights sophomore and returning NJCAA First Team All-American Jadiel Bomfim (Nashua, NH) knotted the game at a goal a piece as he took a long ball down the right side and dribbled through a trio of Viking defenders and drilled a shot past the keeper and into the upper right corner of the net.

Mercer took a 2-1 lead into halftime as they scored on a free kick from 22 yards out with three minutes remaining in the opening half.

The game remained 2-1, until Mercer added a paid of second half goals in the 72^nd and 86^th minutes.

Will Paganini (Derry, NH) recorded nine saves in defeat for the Knights.

The Knights will hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Southern Maine Community College on Tuesday for a non-conference matchup at 4:00pm. NECC will return home at Thursday night when they will host Maine-Augusta at 6:30pm at Whittier Tech High School. During halftime of Thursday's game, NECC will present the 2023-24 men's basketball team with their East District Championship rings.