Knights Down Pioneers 11-4, Win 8th Consecutive Region XX Title

On Sunday, CCBC Essex men's lacrosse defeated Anne Arundel 11-4 at Harford Community College to win its eighth straight Region XX championship.

The Knights (13-2) locked up the No. 3 seed in the NJCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in the process and will face Brookdale on Saturday in a quarterfinal match up.

Freshman attacker Brendan Nolan (Fallston) earned the Region XX Tournament Offensive Most Valuable Player award, while sophomore goalie Max Edelmann (Middletown) took home Defensive Most Valuable Player.

Nolan scored seven goals in the tournament, four against Northern Virginia in the semifinal round and three against the Pioneers in the final.

Edelmann allowed just 10 goals in his team's two games, spending more than 106 minutes between the pipes.

All-Tournament Team

In addition to Nolan and Edelmann, freshmen Cole Rainier (Calverton School) and Lance Pavlina (Desert Vista) and sophomores Chandler Aversa (Perry Hall) and Julian Jackson (Wilson) were named to the Region XX All-Tournament Team.

Rainier tallied 11 points in the tournament. He had three goals and six assists against Northern Virginia and one of each against Anne Arundel.

Pavlina controlled the faceoff circle for the Knights, winning 84% (38-45) in the two games, including 16-of-17 in the championship game.

Aversa was a dominate force on defense. When he was not clearing the way for Edelman, Aversa collected seven ground balls in the tournament.

Jackson had seven points in the tournament. He scored four goals with an assist against Northern Virginia and had two more goals against the Pioneers.

Next up, nationals

The Knights will not have far to travel for its game with Brookdale, as the team will host the quarterfinal match on Saturday.

With a win, the Knights would play Nassau C.C. in the semifinals of the NJCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship.

CCBC Essex will host the national tournament May 9-10. For more information, visit http://www.ccbcessexknights.com/information/championships/mlax/index or select 'Inside Athletics' above and click the 'Lacrosse Championship' link.