No. 2 Knights Defeat Harford 2-1 in Home Opener

By Austin Johnson

Rossville, Md. – The #2 ranked CCBC Essex Knights Men's Soccer Team were victorious in this season's home opener, defeating the Harford Community College Fighting Owls 2-1.

The Knights pressed the Harford back line from the start, which led to the Knights scoring their first of the game in the 16th minute. Pressure from Michael Adekanmbi allowed the Knights to win the ball back and move in transition towards the Fighting Owls goal. A give-and-go between Adekanmbi and Ethan Hackenberg put the Knights in a great position to score, and Hackenberg didn't miss placing the ball in the left corner to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

When asked about his team's performance and trying to implement their style of play into the game, Hackenberg said "It's hard to keep the way you play and keep the ball on the ground when you play against a team that likes to play it in long. They (Harford) played a great game. It was a very physical game but a very fun game to play. Happy to be on the scoresheet again, happy for the result, but there is a lot more we can work on. This is exactly what we will see towards the end of the season, so this was a great test for us early."

The Fighting Owls would answer back in the 25th minute, winning a free kick in the Knight's half. Harford's Kye Williams would send a cross to the back post, finding Alexis Garcia's head to tie the game 1-1.

The Knights would continue to push forward in the 44th minute when Caleb Pritchett forced a great save from Fighting Owls goalkeeper Emanuele Moretti. The Knights would then regain possession and come right back down the field, putting together a great move down the left-hand side. Pritchett would be denied a second time, but the rebound was controlled and put in

the back of the net by Toga Katsuma to put the Knights in front 2-1. The Knights finished the first half outshooting the Fighting Owls 15-4.

In the second half, the Fighting Owls would outshoot the Knights 9-5, but the Knights stayed strong as the clock continued to roll down. Knights goalkeeper Robin Schulze would make five of his six saves in the second half including a stretching save to his left in the 70th minute to deny Kye Williams of the equalizer.

Knights Head Coach Joe Fielder spoke postgame about his team's performance. He said "I don't think we played the greatest game, but it was because Harford put us in that situation. We tried to correct a lot of mistakes but unfortunately, sometimes you get involved in a game and emotions take over. We're playing well but a lot of times we are making those simple mistakes that can't happen, but we'll learn from it."

Continuing to speak postgame, Fielder spoke about how much credit his assistant coaches deserve for how much influence they have on the team on the field. He said, "I give all the credit to the assistants. I tell them what we need to do, and they do the work so all the credit goes to them."

The Knights return to the pitch on Tuesday, September 13th when they travel to Hagerstown to face Hagerstown Community College. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 PM.