Men's Soccer: Knights Win 4-3 on PKs over Cardinals, Face Cougars in Regional Final

By Oluwaseun Adeniji

DUNDALK, MD -- The Knights last night defeated its intra-campus rival CCBC Catonsville 4-3 in a penalty shootout at CCBC Dundalk Stadium and moves on to play Frederick on Saturday for the NJCAA Region XX Division I men's soccer title.

Saturday's regional final will be a rematch of last season's, in which the Knights defeated the Cougars 1-0 to win its fifth consecutive title.  

Freshmen Jake Dengler (John Carroll) andBryan Roney (Easton) scored the Knights goals in the 50^th and 62^nd minutes of play, respectively. Sophomore Maycol Nunez (Washington-Lee) assisted on both tallies.

Sophomore Eddy Fossung put the Cardinals on the board at 65:25 and freshman Kodjo Tokpley scored the equalizer with 6:08 to play in regulation.

In the penalty-kick shootout, Dengler and freshmen Carlos Guzman-Hernandez (Easton), Varmah Siryon (Dundalk), and Clement Blamo Jr. (Dundalk) tallied one for the Knights.

Records: CCBC Essex (14-5-0) CCBC Catonsville (7-10-2)

Location: Dundalk, MD.

How it went down

• In the first minute, Dengler made a right foot shot on goal saved by Cardinals' Brandon Basilio, followed by a rebound shot by sophomore Trent Hofmeister (Fallston) just wide left.
• At 6:25, Blamo Jr. made a shot on goal, but Basilio made the save.
• Five minutes later, Blamo Jr. put another shot off the crossbar.
• At 11:23, Roney's shot on goal was saved by Basilio.
• At 36:07, Hofmeister had a chance to put the Knights on the board, but his shot was wide left.
• Dengler had two opportunities to score prior to the break. The first came at 39:11, which was saved by Basilio; three minutes later his header hit the crossbar.
• Dengler sent a left foot shot on goal, but Basilio made the save just three minutes into the second half.
• One minute later, Dengler still determined, scored the Knights' first goal of the game – his 11^th goal of the season – assisted by Nunez. Dengler passed the ball to Nunez, and Nunez passed the ball back through a defender, then Dengler finished it off.
• At 51:19, Cardinals' Max Munther-Anderson's shot was high.
• In the 53rd and 54th minute of play, Dengler and Nunez looked to add to the lead, but Basilio saved both.
• At 61:55, Roney scored the Knights second goal of the game – his third of the season – assisted by Nunez, give the Knights a two-goal lead.
• At 64:16, Cardinals' Eddy Fossung made a shot just high off the net.
• Less than two minutes later, Fossung scored the Cardinals' first goal of the game, on a header, with an assist from Joseph Stefoi.
• At 74:28 and 80:30, Dengler's two header attempts both hit the crossbar.
• At 80:30, Denger again hit the crossbar with a header. Nunez's rebound shot sailed high.
• At 83:52, Kodjo Tokpley scored on an assist by Joseph Stefoi. After a corner kick by Stefoi, Tokpley immediately hit a header into the net.
• In the 91^st minute, Franck Bouke made a long shot which hit off the crossbar; Munther-Anderson made a rebounded header shot, that also went off the crossbar.
• At 95:39, sophomore Seth Walter's (C.Milton Wright) header was on goal, but Basilio made the save.
• With no shots on goal during the second overtime, penalty kicks would decide who moved on.
• The Knights edged the Cardinals 4-3 in seven shoot-out rounds to win and play in Saturday's championship.

"CCBC Catonsville gave us all that we wanted and we survived," said Knights head coach Joe Fiedler. "I thought we played well. We were unfortunate in that we hit the post many times. I'm just glad we advanced."

The Knights will play for their sixth consecutive NJCAA Region XX Division I title on Saturday against Frederick. The game is at CCBC Dundalk and is scheduled for 12 noon.