Each week during the academic year, the NE10 honors
Athletes of the Week for all of its 24 sponsored sports while they are in season. Faces in the Crowd shines a spotlight on outstanding on-field performances that didn't earn Athlete of the Week recognition, while also highlighting academic or community efforts from student-athletes across the league.
Below are this week's
NE10 Faces in the Crowd.
ADDY FENTON
School: Saint Michael's
Sport: Field Hockey
Position: Back
Class: Senior
Hometown: Andover, Mass.
Fenton recorded six defensive saves last week, including four vs. No. 1 Kutztown. The total would have ranked her sixth nationally at the end of last season through just the first week in 2024.
ADRIAN PARKER
School: Franklin Pierce
Sport: Football
Position: Quarterback
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Manchester, Conn.
Parker quarterbacked Franklin Pierce to the 22nd-best passing offense in the nation after the season's first week. Parker threw for 268 yards and a TD in a near-upset of Division I FCS opponent Bryant.
BRI GRECCO
School: Southern Connecticut State
Sport: Cross Country
Class: Senior
Hometown: Thomaston, Conn.
Grecco ran the season-opening Nassaney Invitational in 19:30.6, tied with teammate Courtney Henchcliffe (who took home NE10 Athlete of the Week honors). The score placed her 15th of 86 runners in a combined DI and DII field.
FRIDA LARSSEN
School: Assumption
Sport: Soccer
Position: Goalie
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Falkenberg, Sweden
Larssen posted a 3-0 shutout in her season debut vs Daeman, making a career-high nine saves for the Greyhounds.
GRACE ALMEIDA
School: Saint Michael's
Sport: Volleyball
Position: Middle
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Clifton Park, NY
Almeida posted an insane line of 16 kills and only one error against Assumption last week. She hit .489 in the season's first two matches and racked up five blocks.
HAILEY DESMARAIS
School: Franklin Pierce
Sport: Cross Country
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Assonet, Mass.
Desmarais won her collegiate debut wire to wire at the Ron Oullette Invitational. She finished the 2.1 mile course just inside 13 minutes.
IVER SJAVAG
School: Assumption
Sport: Soccer
Position: Goalie
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Alesund, Norway
Sjavag posted the most saves by a keeper in the NE10 in a single effort last week, picking up 11 stops against Queens. The total was the second-best nationally across DII last week.
JOSE CLEMENTE
School: Southern Connecticut State
Sport: Soccer
Position: Forward
Class: Senior
Hometown: Castellón de la Plana, Spain
An NE10 All-Second Team performer for Saint Rose in 2023, Clemente wasted no time making New Haven his new home. The Spaniard scored a hat trick to help push the Owls to a 3-0 win over Bloomfield to begin the season.
MATT SMITH
School: Saint Anselm
Sport: Football
Position: Defensive Line
Class: Senior
Hometown: Ayer, Mass.
Smith led the Hawks defense in last week's close loss at FCS Sacred Heart. The lineman made 10 tackles, three for a loss, while recording one sack. Smith's three TFL's rank him sixth nationally. Saint Anselm made nine TFL's as a team, ranking 15th in the country after week one.
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 11 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
Fans can subscribe via this link to follow NE10 NOW on FloSports this season. The partnership between the NE10 and FloSports works to provide funds back to the athletic departments of the Northeast-10 Conference in support of student-athletes while promoting the league on a national platform.