Essex Knights Womens Soccer Keeps Rolling

Written by: Drew Bellinger

Essex, MD— Three weeks, three matches, three wins. The Knights remain undefeated after taking down the Garrett College Lakers 2-0 in yesterday's home contest. In what was a very hard fought 90 minutes, the Knights persevered and kept their feet down for that entire 90 minutes.

Despite a close win on the scoreboard, the Knights played a very dominant and physically demanding match, truly forcing the Lakers to play and defend the entire field. The offensive and defensive attack was relentless from the Knights. But it was also present from the Lakers, especially early on. The first half consisted of a defensive showdown. The Knights failed to find the back of the net after three shots.

Then came foul trouble for the Lakers. Alexandra Henning beat the goalie and shot on frame, but a Lakers midfielder with her hands extended prevented the shot from going in, resulting in a red card and a penalty kick. Knights defender Ashlin Fuentes would then put it past the goalie with ease to put the Knights up 1-0 in the 40^th minute. As for the Lakers? The Knights only allowed one shot all game, which was saved in the third minute.

The second half came much easier to the Knights because of the aforementioned foul trouble. Thirteen out of the sixteen total shots taken by the Knights came in the second half, including attempts from Samantha Grace and Tyetianna Cooper within the first ten minutes of the second half.

After a barrage of shots from different Knights throughout the second half, Ismari Hernandez played a ball in to Cooper, who found the back of the net after a nice display of ball control and a chip over the Lakers keeper. This put the Knights up 2-0 in the 89^th minute, a late dagger per usual with Cooper. It was much easier for the Knights to find, create and attack open space created by the lack of a Lakers player. This advantage was bound to be a catalyst for opportunities for the Knights, and the statistics certainly support that, although that was the only opportunity the Knights were able to convert.

Sometimes the best defense is a great offense. The Knights dominated time of possession in this match, hardly allowing the vulnerable second half Lakers to generate any sort of momentum. They swarmed to the ball and created many contested balls.

We spoke to Coach King after the match and while he was certainly pleased to come out of this game on top, he notes that there is room for improvement. "Our finishing does have to get better… We're getting good opportunities and we're getting opportunities early on" Coach King says. Finishing these said opportunities and getting ahead early can change the dynamic of the entire match and put serious pressure on the opponent.

The Knights look to remain undefeated on the season as they travel to Stayman Field to play the WVU Potomac State College Catamounts under the lights this Thursday at 7:00pm. This is not a game to glance over as the Catamounts are eagerly searching for their first win.