Posted: Aug 20, 2018

Men's Soccer: Knights Learn from Scrimmage Against Japanese Club

By Billy Owens

Baltimore County, Md. -- It's not every day that the Knights get to test their skills against competition from the other side of the world.

That's just what Essex did on Friday, as the men's soccer team hosted Japanese club United F.C. in a unique preseason scrimmage at CCBC Essex Stadium.

The Knights fell to their Japanese visitors 5-2, but head coach Joe Fiedler was complimentary of United and their coach Oliver Wellman.

"I knew they were going to be tactical, I knew they were going to be really technical," he said. "I wanted to see us play a little harder, that's all."

United started strong as offensive midfielder Kenshin Uneo netted a timely goal following an error by Essex goalkeeper Kyle Cooper in the 8^th minute of play.

The Knights faced an uphill battle for most of the contest, but managed tie it in the 38th minute following an unassisted goal by Isaiah Price (Bowie).

It wouldn't be long until United found the back of the net again as they scored their second unassisted goal in the 43^rd minute.

Essex found itself trailing 2-1 after the first half.

"To break down the defense individually, it's a little bit challenging, so as a group we broke down the defense," Uneo said through his translator and coach Oliver Wellman. "We want to [have the] advantage in terms of numbers when we're attacking; in that way we can break down the defense a lot easier."

United continued to keep the Knights on the defensive in the second half and in the 62^nd minute forward Morrison Hashii drilled the team's third goal to make it 3-1.

The final 10 minutes of the match featured fast-paced offensive pushes by both teams, as Uneo put up his second goal of the day in the 80^th minute to give United a 4-1 advantage.

Knights' forward Nehemiah Crawford (Baltimore City College) cut the deficit to 4-2 by netting a goal in the very next minute.

United would score the last goal of the match, as midfielder Kanata Furutani kicked his team to a 5-2 lead in the 86^th minute of play.

"Personally, I'd rather [play a competitive team] than play an easy preseason game," Crawford said. "With [United] we learned a lot just by watching them play, so I think it's a great experience."

The Knights play their final preseason scrimmage on Wednesday at Goucher College and open its season with the CCBC Essex Knights Soccer Kickoff Classic on Saturday, as they host No. 3 Monroe College at 5 p.m.