CCBC Essex Knights Women Soccer Take Down the Howard Dragons 2-0 at Home

By Ben Wagner

Rossville, Md. – The CCBC Essex women's soccer team took down the Howard Dragons on Tuesday night with a final score of 2-0.

When asked about having such a long gap leading up to last night's game, Head Coach Steve King said "Having over a week in between games was tough, especially coming off a long preseason and then having to sit a couple of losses, the girls were ready to get back out and compete. They knew this was an important week for our season and we needed to get off to a good start, so the effort and focus in preparing for this week was able to push us through the off time."

The game started off strong for the Knights as they had three shots and a corner kick by the fourth minute of the game. The Knights continued to put pressure on the Dragons and had some really nice chances taken away by offsides. Midfielder Mackenzie Hunt opened up the game in the 36^th minute by a beautiful ball played in from Baily Arnett which gave the Knights a 1-0 lead.

At the end of the first half, the Knights had six total shots with Mackenzie Hunt having three of them. Goalkeeper Reagan Cantner saved the only shot on goal the Dragons had in the first half.

The CCBC Essex Knights started off impressive again in the second half this time Kylie Staubitz had two shots in the 46^th minute of the game. The Knights continued to win 50/50 balls but continued to struggle with offsides taking other changes away from them.

The Knights continued in the latter part of the second half to dominate in possession, which ultimately lead to freshman forward Allison Wysong putting a great ball in the net in the 76^th minute to increase the Knights lead to 2-0.

The CCBC Essex Knights would go on to finish the game strong and maintain their 2-0 lead over the Howard Dragons. The Knights added nine more shots in the second half giving them a total of 15 with 12 of them being on goal.

After notching her first goal of the season, Wysong said, "I felt like I had something to prove. After a couple of missed opportunities, I was relieved to finally connect with the back of the net."

Reflecting on his team's performance Head Coach Steve King said "Overall, I thought we played well last night. With having a bit of a layoff between games and the slickness of the field from the weather, I didn't think our sharpness was there right away but built as the game went on. We created a good amount of opportunities and did a great job at limiting theirs."

Wysong added, "I think we came out flat in the first half. I wish we could have gained an advantage on Howard earlier in the game, but we came out stronger in the second half and outplayed them. Overall, it was a solid win for the Knights."

The Knights will have their next matchup on Thursday, September 8^th against Harford Community College. When asked about a quick turnaround against another tough regional matchup, Head Coach Steve King said "Another big test versus a good local rival. The players know one another, so that will always bring out another level of intensity."

Looking ahead, Wysong said, "I'm looking forward to gaining my confidence as a player and building team camaraderie. If we can continue to dominate on the field, I think we'll have a big season ahead of us."

Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 pm from the Kingdom.