No. 3 Knights Slay No. 2 Dragons, Advance to Region Finals

By Rebecca Plantholt

Rosedale, Md.— On Friday, the #3 CCBC Essex Knights defeated the #2 Howard Dragons in the NJCAA Region 20 men's lacrosse semifinals to advance to the region championship game. This year resembled what happened last season where the Knights traveled to the Dragon's Lair and lost. They then hosted the region semifinals rematch in the Kingdom and produced the victory to keep the playoff run alive. This time the Knights win came by a score of 19-13.

The Knights train started rolling from the first whistle. The first score by the Knights was just over a minute into the game by veteran Joshua Schelfe. This was followed by three goals in rapid succession by Pat Ruffolo, Kalan O'Hara, and Wyatt Antkiewicz, increasing the Knights lead to 4-0 with only 2:24 into the game. Ruffolo added another goal three minutes later to give the Knights a commanding 5-0 lead six minutes into the game.

Head Coach Shawn Burke commented after the game about their quick, commanding start, saying "It was big because it was a confidence thing. We lost to them the first time we played them so I think we needed to gain more confidence. It helps build momentum and that carried through the game."

The Dragons were able to find their way onto the scoreboard during their only man-up opportunity of the frame. Both teams scored another goal late in the quarter, including Bradley David's first of the game, to close out the first quarter, 6-2 Knights over Dragons.

The second quarter started similarly to the first, with the Knights scoring the first three goals. This would give the Knights their first of three game-high seven goal leads, 9-2. The Dragons would tally another, but not without a quick response from David, returning the Knights lead to seven.

After more back-and-forth scoring by both teams, the Dragons would start building momentum off of man-up opportunities, scoring two goals on three changes in the second quarter. The first half would end with the Dragons going on a 4-0 run, sending the teams into the break with the Dragons having a three-goal deficit, 11-8.

The third quarter was very quiet. The Dragons would score first in the frame for the first and only time in the game, cutting the Knights lead to two goals. The Knights would respond with a goal of their own, but Howard would once again cut the lead to two just seconds before the end of the quarter. Heading into the final 15 minutes, the score was 12-10, still in favor of the Knights.

In the fourth, the teams started by exchanging goals once again before the Knights were able to go on two separate three-goal runs, once again increasing their lead back to seven goals, 19-12. David would score two more in the quarter as well as Nicholas Woodard scoring his third long-pole goal of the year, his first in a conference game. The Dragons were able to score another late goal, ending the game with a 19-13 Knights victory.

Overall, the box score was dominated by the Knights. The Knights had a seven-goal frame in the fourth, the most by either team in the game. They would also outshoot the Dragons 49-42. The Knights recorded 31 ground balls, three more than the Dragons in the game. The Knights were also perfect on their 23 clear opportunities.

From the circle, the Knights would win 53% (18-34) of the faceoffs. This was largely in part to Zackary Ouassil going 17-32 in his attempts. In the cage, Jacob Lantz would support the team, recording a season high 12 saves. Post game, when asked about the mindset of the team coming into today, Lantz said, "We've been practicing a lot and knew we were prepared. We knew it wasn't going to be the same as last time."

Four Knights scored three or more goals in the game: David (4), Ruffolo (3), Antkiewicz (3), and Covey (3). Ruffolo and Antkiewicz would finish with a six point day, while David finished with five. Covey and Ryan Skeen would both put up three points on the day. After his five-point performance, David said, "I was just really looking for an open guy, making sure that the ball was swinging around. We were just having fun out there. We were just coming like we were playing out back in the backyard, throwing the ball around, making sure that everyone touched it, and then attack the goal like there was no one in it."

This strong performance sets the Knights up for a rematch of last year's NJCAA Region 20 Championship game against the #1 Harford Fighting Owls, this time in the Kingdom. Earlier in the season, the Knights lost at home to the Fighting Owls 11-9 in a back-and-forth contest. That loss was the Knights seventh consecutive game lost to the Fighting Owls. The last time the Knights were victorious in the matchup was back in 2018 where they won 8-7 at home.

The Knights look to snap this head-to-head losing streak, extending their season win streak beyond five games, and punch their ticket to the NJCAA National Champion Tournament on Sunday. "It's about playing the best we can, executing our stuff really well, and playing with a ton of effort," said Burke.

Looking ahead, David said, "The job's not finished. Everyone just has to go out there, show that this team is bigger than what it looks it- the athletes, the grinders, the hard-nosed athletes on this team. Maybe they don't get the goals, maybe they don't get the assists, but it really comes from them. The little plays matter the most."

The NJCAA Region 20 Championship game will be played at CCBC Essex on Sunday, May 1^st at 1pm . Admission is $5, children under 12 are free, or you can watch live at the CCBC Essex Knights YouTube page.