-Article & photo by Devon Douglas of CCBC Essex –
The NJCAA Division II No. 1 ranked Knights lost their first match of the season this past Saturday to Division I No. 11 Monroe College 6-2 at CCBC Essex Stadium.
Toga Katsuma (Honshu, Japan) and Henry Ortiz (Mount Airy, Md.) scored the Knights only goals of the game.
CCBC Essex set the tempo first, retaining possessions the most and looked like the better team for the first ten minutes of play. The Knights (5-1) missed a header off the post just three minutes into play on what proved to be their best opportunity of the first half. Monroe (3-1) settled into their tactics and the momentum started to shift.
The first goal of the game came in the 26th minute of play after Monroe’s Liam Murray connected on a free kick.
Only one more goal was scored in the first half that came just before halftime in the 43rd minute off the foot of Ivan Silic. CCBC Essex conceded four goals in the second half, three of which were within six minutes of each other between the 72nd and 78th minutes of play.
Katsuma and Ortiz scored just 26 seconds apart with ten minutes left in the match. Katsuma is tied for the team lead with four goals and Ortiz is tied second with three.
Knights sophomore goalkeeper Brendan LeMaster (Bowie) was tested throughout and finished the game with eight saves.
Next Up
The Knights look to get back on track on Thursday when they host Alleghany College of Maryland. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
