NYS, BALTZER, KRISTOFFERSEN AND ROURKE NAMED TO 2023 MEN’S SOCCER ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Northeast Community College men's soccer players Edouard Nys (Dottignies, Belgium), Luca Baltzer (Oberstenfeld, Germany), Mathias Kristoffersen (Skovby, Denmark) and Lewis Rourke (Nottingham, England) were named to 2023 NJCAA DII Men's Soccer All-America Teams, it was announced by the NJCAA Tuesday.

Nys was named First Team All-American after a freshman campaign that made waves across the collegiate-soccer world. Nys was 11th in the country in goals scored with 17, third in assists with 22, third in points with 56 and had the most shots in the DII ranks with 106, 14 more than the nearest competitor. Nys was previously named First Team All-Region this season and was awarded the title of 2023 Region 11 Player of the Year. Nys had 14 points in the postseason, including the game-winning goal against Prairie State College at the 2023 NJCAA DII Men's Soccer Championship, which was his fifth game-winning goal of the year.

Baltzer was named First Team All-American as a captain in 2023 after being awarded the title of Second Team All-American in 2022. The sophomore started 23 games and was the anchor of a midfield that was dominant for the Hawks. Baltzer had five goals, seven assists and 17 points to finish off his spectacular career at Northeast. He buried a penalty kick that became the game-winning goal on September 27 in a showdown with Iowa Lakes Community College in a matchup that pitted the No. 1 Hawks against the No. 3 Lakers in one of the biggest regular-season matchups in school history. Baltzer was also named First Team All-Region and is the first player in the history of the Northeast Men's Soccer program to be named an All-American twice.

Kristoffersen was named Second Team All-American as a freshman goalkeeper after the Hawks led the nation in shutouts with 16. Kristoffersen had a goals-against average of 0.5, which ranked third in the country. He also was ninth in the nation with a save percentage of .845. Throughout conference play, Kristoffersen only allowed one goal in eight Region 11 starts and was awarded with the title of First Team All-Region. In total, Kristoffersen started 23 games and recorded 60 saves.

Rourke was named Third Team All-American after a freshman season where he scored 22 goals in just 20 games. The 22 goals from Rourke were enough to place him fifth in the nation in goals and he added four assists for a total of 48 points. Rourke set a school record for goals in a match on September 30 with six against Scott Community College and scored a goal in seven different conference matchups, which propelled him to First Team All-Region honors.

Nys, Baltzer, Kristoffersen and Rourke were each part of a Hawks squad that set a program record for wins in a season with 22, became champions of both Region 11 and the Plains District and advanced the semifinals of the national tournament for the first time in school history in any sport during the NJCAA era.

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