Women's Lacrosse: Knights Best Hawks in NJCAA Region XX Quarterfinal

ROSEDALE, Md. -- On Saturday, April 30, the Knights women's lacrosse team won its first NJCAA Region XX Tournament game since 2012, defeating College of Southern Maryland 14-12 at CCBC Essex Stadium. 

Sophomore Madison Christian (Severna Park) had a game-high eight goals, including a tally with 52 seconds left in regulation that sealed the victory. 

But perhaps Christian's most memorable goal was her third of the day, which came on a free position 7:51 into the game. It was her 100th career tally.

"It felt great," Christian said. "Reaching 100 goals is a great accomplishment. One of the reasons I came back was to contribute to the team and reach milestones like this one."

Christian is believed to be the first CCBC Essex women's lacrosse student-athlete to reach this milestone and is definitely the only one since the program's reboot in 2010. 

The Knights (8-8) jumped out to an early 4-1 lead and took an 8-5 lead into the break.

While Essex never relinquished the lead, Southern Maryland fought hard in the second half.

After Christian scored her seventh goal of the day, the Knights led 12-6 with with 16:52 remaining in regulation. 

The Hawks got as close as 13-12 before Christian scored her final goal with under one minute left.

Sophomore Caroline Oakey (Mercy) scored two goals on three shots.

Sophomore Hailey Jarrard (Sparrows Point) had a goal and three assists.

Freshman Jessica Boothe (Kenwood), Kelsey Ader (Eastern Tech) and Calixta Eraso (The Catholic High School) all scored one goal each.

Freshman goalie Devan Middleton played extremely well between the pipes, finishing with 11 saves on 23 shots.

Next up

The Knights will travel to Howard C.C. to meet Harford C.C. in a semifinal game on Saturday. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.