Knights Survive Sloppy Performance, Edge Out Cougars

Written by: David Israel Barkley

Essex, MD.- The CCBC Essex Knights secured a victory over the Frederick Community College Cougars in their first road matchup, but the win was far from as dominant a display as they are capable of. While the team ultimately emerged victorious, their play was inconsistent and often fell short of their expectations. Despite the slow start, the Knights found their rhythm and pulled away in the second half.

Ashlin Fuentes opened the scoring for the Knights. Avery Lane's back post header goal, assisted by Tyetianna Cooper, quickly followed. The team's defense came to play, holding the Cougars shotless in the first half, compared to the Knights 13 shots.

Cooper led the offensive charge in the second half, scoring twice. Her first goal came midway through the half, assisted by Diamond Brown. She capped off the scoring with a late goal in the final seconds of the match.

Despite being the better team on paper, the Knights struggled to control the game and execute big plays at times. Despite this, the Knights managed to hold the Cougars to only one goal attempt, which came in the second half and was their only shot of the game.

Cooper's offensive contributions were crucial in securing the win, but the Knights' overall play was not all that they expected from themselves. The team's play in the beginning and missed opportunities made the game closer than it should have been.

Despite the performance, the Knights' victory is a positive result. The team's ability to win despite not playing to their full potential is a testament to their resilience and determination. As the season progresses, the Knights will strive to improve their performance and deliver more convincing victories.

Coach Steve and player Avery Lane had some comments about the team's win following the game. We asked Coach Steve about preparation leading into the game. He shared with us that, "Coming into the game, we didn't do much on the grass... I do think the surface helped them a little, but we are by far the better team. We had plenty of opportunities. It was close because we allowed it to be close. We are happy with a win like this but there is more work to be done and room to improve."

We asked Avery Lane, who was a vital contributor to the team's success today, to take us through the first half, and what changed going into the second. She shared that, "The first half was a struggle. We were all frustrated because we felt like we should have been playing better than we were. But by the end, we figured out how to show up for each other more. We started to present more supporting opportunities than one person taking shots. Shots that weren't on goal in the first half were on goal in the second half."

Going forward onto future games, the Knights will take what worked well in this game and expound upon it, while simultaneously attempting to iron out the things that hindered success. They have a game coming up on the 3^rd of September and they look to gain another win and carry on their momentum, as they have begun the season 2-0.