No.1 Knights Best Cougars, Fighting Owls to Improve to 4-0
By Devon Douglas
Rosedale, Md. -- Freshman Takeroh Murakawa (Hyogo, Japan) buried the game-winner on a free kick in the 69th minute of play last Tuesday night, as the Knights defeated Maryland Juco Conference and Region 20 foe Frederick Cougars 1-0 at home.
Just hours prior to the game, CCBC Essex received word they were the No. 1 ranked NJCAA Division II team in the country.
Frederick came out with intensity to start the game. The Cougars had several chances on goal, all starting from the middle of the field within the first five minutes of play.
Knights' goalie Brendan LeMaster (Bowie, Md.) saw more action in the first half against the Cougars than he did in the entirety of the last two matches played.
Throughout the match, LeMaster became a "sweeper keeper" coming off his line several times to stop threats.
After struggling to get the ball out of their own half, CCBC Essex finally gained control of the game and settled the tempo. They were able to flip the match in their favor and slowly began to pick apart the Cougars.
The Knights found rhythm and used the width to expose Frederick's backline.
Freshman Defender Ethan Stewart (Fairfax, Va.) was a threat as he constantly darted up and down the right flank creating opportunities for his teammates.
Despite the Knights shifting momentum on their side Frederick didn't let up and the game was scoreless at halftime.
Both teams continued their intensity early in the second half.
The Knights eventually became a unit in the midfield thanks to sophomore midfielder Marvin Martinez (Riverdale, Md.).
Martinez created several chances for his forwards, none more important than what came in the 69th minute.
"We need him to play hard all the time which he did," head coach Joe Fiedler said about Martinez. "I think he was a little gassed at the end there, but he's pretty smooth once he gets the ball, and he's a great player at number six for us."
Martinez's play helped set up a free kick with 68:39 remaining in regulation.
After two step overs, Murakawa curled the kick into the upper left corner from 25 yards out.
Murakawa was lively in the second half, not only by scoring but also by pinging balls to his wingers like freshman midfielder Toga Katsuma (Honshu, Japan) who showed great skill and pace down the right flank and driving in low crosses to the box.
CCBC Essex took over and defended as a unit after the late goal.
Sophomore back and captain Kota Tsuchisawa (Japan) was a wall, as he led the Knights back line and stopped many opportunities for Frederick's forwards.
In the last minute of the game, the Cougars earned a free kick with a chance to draw equal.
LeMaster came up huge, as he saved the shot to the upper left corner that seemed destined to tie the game.
"I thought we were a little flat and a little cocky, but we managed to get a [the win]," said Fiedler. "I'm always a keep it simple [type of coach] and we made things difficult on ourselves tonight...good teams dig it out and that's what we did."
Knights Use Big Second Half to Cage Fighting Owls 3-0
The Knights used a strong second half on Thursday night to hand Harford its first loss of the season, a 3-0 final at the Harford Athletic Complex in Bel Air, Md.
CCBC Essex started the game aggressively, totaling 19 shots on goal in the first half, compared to Harford's three shots.
In the second half of play the Knights had sent 17 more shots on goal taking advantage of a 10 man Harford squad, due to a red card given to the Fighting Owls' Alexis Garcia just two minutes into the second half.
The first goal came from sophomore midfielder Andy Portillo (Laurel, Md.) in the 68' minute of play as he netted one in the bottom left corner.
It took 14 minutes for the next goal to be scored this time by the speedy and skilled freshman midfielder Katsuma.
Katsuma not only scored, but also assisted freshman forward Henry Ortiz (Mount Airy, Md.) for the Knights third and final goal of the match.
LeMaster saw little action this time around with only three shots that came his way, all of which he saved.
Next Up
The Knights look to push their record to 5-0 as they travel tomorrow to face the Howard Dragons Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.