Posted: Apr 27, 2021

Knights Boast Three Top-5 Ranked Teams, Streaking Baseball Squad

Rosedale, Md. -- Entering the final week of April, the Knights boast two NJCAA Division II No. 1 ranked teams - men's and women's soccer - a No. 4 ranked men's lacrosse team and a baseball team that has won eight of its last nine with regional playoffs on the horizon.

It's good to be a Knight.

"These rankings and results show the commitment of our student-athletes over the past 12 months of uncertainty to focus on their academics, conditioning, and individual skill development," said Greg Witkop, CCBC Essex Athletic Administrator. "Often in creative ways, as well, the dedication of our coaching staff has shown to maintain forward progress, continued recruitment, and the retention of student-athletes during very challenging times for all of us."

Earlier this season, the Knights men's Track and Field team was also ranked in the Top-5 by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

On the pitch

Men's and women's soccer have been in the Top-5 since the release of the NJCAA preseason polls.

As the men have climbed from No. 3 to the top spot, the women have sat atop the rankings all season.

On the men's side, the Knights are 4-0 and have outscored its opponents 21-3, including two shutouts.

The team has had 11 different goal scorers in its four games. Four - Sam Diaz, Sam Mejia, Henry Ortiz, and Andy Portillo - are tied for the team lead with three goals.

Takeroh Murakawa leads the team and is tied for sixth in the nation with four assists.

In goal, Brendan LeMaster has been stellar, posting an .800 save percentage and NJCAA's fifth best goals against average at 0.56, all in 320 minutes played.

The women were the first ever NJCAA Division II Women's Soccer No. 1 team and have held the spot for four weeks and counting.

Also sitting at 4-0, the women have outscored opponents 25-2, which includes three shutouts.

Eleni Serevetas, Sam Wilson, Caroline Warns and Jessica Morris have solidified a back line that has allowed just eight shots on goal in four games, six of which came April 15 at Division I Harcum in a hard-fought 3-2 road win.

Goalkeeper Jennifer Holland has done her part when the ball reaches her. She has six saves, a 0.50 goals against average (10th NJCAA) and her three shutouts rank tied for seventh in the country.

Kara Dietrich continues to shine offense, as her 12 goals and 28 points are both second best in the nation.

In total, the Knights have had seven different goal scorers.

Ryleigh Fachler is second on the team in goals (4) and third in assists (2).

Sam Dorr is second in goals and assists with four each.

The Knights women have its first real regional test tonight as they host the No. 4 Howard Dragons at 7 p.m.

On the turf

The resurgence of Knights men's lacrosse has been great to witness.

Ranked No. 4 in the nation, lacrosse has the second seed in this year's Region XX Tournament and host the third seeded Dragons tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Essex defeated Howard 13-6 last Friday and the Dragons won 13-12 in overtime on April 6 in the teams' first meeting.

Head coach Shawn Burke is in year one of his second stint at the helm and he knows his team's 7-3 record is a result of hard work by many.

"It has been a crazy season for sure," Burke said. "I think our guys, have navigated well a new coaching staff, playing in the middle of a pandemic and having had more challenges than arguably any other team in the area. For our guys to handle themselves the way they have both on the field and off, it has truly been a special group and one that the entire CCBC community should be very proud of."

Kyle Guenther - two-time 2021 NJCAA Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week - and Braeden Allen - NCAA Division I Monmouth University commit - have pushed each other all season. The duo rank one-two on the team with 26 and 23 goals, respectively, which is good for a tie for fourth and a tie for eighth nationally.

Pat Ruffolo and Joshua Schelfe lead the Knights with 12 assists, which is tied for eighth best in the NJCAA.

Piers McGinn has been a machine in the cage, posting an NJCAA best 67 saves and is fourth in the nation in both goals against average (7.67) and save percentage (55.8%).

Nicholas Woodard has set the pace for defense with 11 caused turnovers, which is tied for ninth in the country.

As a team, the Knights are fourth in the NJCAA with 69 caused turnovers.

On the diamond

After the first month of the season, Knights baseball was hanging around the bottom of the Maryland Juco Conference and Region XX Division II standings.

Then April began.

The Knights are 10-7 this month, including winning eight of its last nine games. They currently hold the fifth seed, if the regional playoffs began today.

"The goal from the start was to play our best baseball at the end of the season," said head coach Sean O'Connor. "We have begun to do the small things and have given great effort throughout the year."

As a team, the Knights are batting .288 and have a .406 on-base percentage.

Cam Powers and Mitch Haywood lead the team with a .342 batting average, while Powers has the best on-base percentage at .484.

Nick Hemstreet is slugging a team-best .471 and leads the team with three homers. He also has four doubles.

Haywood leads the Knights in extra base hits with nine doubles.

The Knights are aggressive on the bases and rank 15th in NJCAA with 102 steals and have only been caught 19 times.

Essex has four student-athletes with double-digit steals.

Sammy Canela paces the Knights with 16 stolen bases, followed by JJ Erazo (13), Max Jinjika (10) and Powers (10).

On the mound, Rolando Heredia-Bustos continues to be the staff ace.

His 2.27 ERA is not only best in the region, but it ranks 10th in NJCAA Division II. He is also Top-25 in the nation in strikeouts (60) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.37), all over 43 and two thirds innings pitched.

Todd Murphy and Jeffrey Young have pitched well as of late.

In his last two starts, Murphy pitched 12 innings, did not give up an earned run and struck out 10.

Young has surrendered three earned runs or less in three of his last four starts. He has also struck out 30 over the same time, including 12 against Montgomery in his last start on April 23.

The Knights have three remaining divisional games before their final seed in the Region XX Division II Tournament is known.