10 | Sports
Jordan Butters Nets Two NE-10 Player of the Week Honors Christopher Kelly Layout Editor Jordan Butters (‘23) of the SNHU women’s soccer team was named the NE10 Player of the Week for September 20, as well as the following week, according to Penmen Athletics. Her forefront accomplishments to achieve these awards were scoring the game’s only goal on September 15 against Saint Michael’s College, along with an overtime gamewinner on September 29. When asked if being named player of the week was a surprise, she said, “Yeah, a little bit...because there’s a lot of players in the league. I didn’t really expect that big of a deal out of it.” Although NE10 doesn’t state
what they look at when deciding the player of the week, Butters offered this perspective on earning the award: “Sometimes that means you get goals and assists. But sometimes it’s not all about stats. They have defensive player of the week; they have goalkeeper, offensive player, [and] I think working hard and playing your best is how they recognize those players.” Despite the award being for individual players, Butters emphasized that earning this consists of teamwork. “It’s more of a team effort than an individual effort. Yeah, I got a couple goals and assists, but that
obviously wouldn’t have happened if other players didn’t set me up, and I didn’t set players up [to score],” said Butters. Butters does not just want to stop here. “Just keeping up with what I’ve been doing and what our team has been doing, I think that we’ve been on a bit of a hot streak. Obviously, we have room for improvement, but I think as each game has been going, we’ve been getting better and better, and whatever I can contribute, I can contribute.” As of now, the women’s soccer team is sitting with a score of 100-1: ten wins, one tie and no losses for the first time since 1994.
COVID-19 Protocols for Athletes Sofia Barassi Co-Editor-in-Chief As SNHU’s fall athletes return to play for the first time since 2019, COVID regulations have been set in place for them to compete. According to Tom Wilkins, SNHU Associate Director of Athletics, SNHU Athletics follows all guidelines set by the NCAA and the NE-10 conference. Some guidelines can be found on both the NCAA (ncaa.org/sport-scienceinstitute/covid-19-coronavirus) and NE10 (northeast10.org/2021_ COVID_Protocols) sites and have been updated for the fall 2021 season. “As with prior NCAA publications, these materials are meant to be consistent with guidance published by the federal government and its health agencies and reflect the relevant scientific and medical information available at the time of print,” according to
an article published by the NCAA. The guidelines in place consist of athletes wearing masks for indoor team meetings and activities as well as team travel. For play and practice, however, athletes have no restrictions for social distancing and masking. These regulations are only applicable to indoor contests. As for outdoor competition this fall, soccer, tennis, cross country, golf and field hockey athletes are not required to wear masks except for travel and any indoor meetings. In regards to spectators, each school in the NE10 has its own set of rules published on the NE1o site. Those for Southern New Hampshire University read, “Fans will be welcomed back to athletic events at all SNHU athletic venues at regular capacity, however, all fans must complete
a self COVID health screening, completing the questions found here (snhupenmen.com/ news/2021/8/31/fall-2021spectator-polic y-game-dayfan-offerings.aspx). Those who answer yes to any of the screening questions should not attend the event. “All outside guests, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a face covering when attending sporting events. This includes fans at both indoor and outdoor venues.” These guidelines are subject to change as the status of the pandemic changes. According to Penmen Athletics website, “If the conditions of the pandemic continue to improve, SNHU will begin allowing external guests to utilize SNHU facilities beginning in January 2022.”
