Knights Defeat #5 College of DuPage 11-8

The CCBC Essex men's lacrosse team made a statement with an impressive 11-8 victory over College of DuPage on Wednesday.

After a tightly contested first quarter ended in a 2-2 tie, the Knights began to take control in the second period. Essex outscored DuPage 4-3 in the quarter to take a 6-5 lead into halftime before turning in a dominant defensive effort in the third.

The Knights held the Chaparrals scoreless in the third quarter while adding another goal to push the lead to 7-5 entering the final frame. Essex then matched DuPage's offensive pushes in the fourth quarter with four goals of its own to seal the 11-8 victory.

Sophomore attackman Peyton Stevens (Baltimore, MD) led the offensive charge with four goals and two assists while firing a game-high 15 shots, including nine on goal. Peyton Moritzen (Soph., Manheim Township, PA) added a strong all-around performance with three goals and three assists, finishing with a team-high six points.

Rob Andrews (Soph., Towson, MD) and Jacob Bieschke (Soph., Baltimore, MD) each added two goals for the Knights, while Kumari Hurd (Soph., Baltimore, MD) contributed two assists, and Landon Almonte (Fr., Viera Beach, FL) chipped in an assist offensively.

CCBC Essex controlled possession throughout much of the game thanks to faceoff specialist Max Johnson (Soph., Westminster, MD), who collected a team-high 12 ground balls. Defensively, Jackson Ryan (Soph., York, PA) and Ben Klein (Fr., York, PA) helped anchor the Knights with three caused turnovers apiece.

Goalkeeper Colin Parker (Soph., Martinsburg, WV)  earned the win in net, stopping 15 shots over 60 minutes of action while helping Essex limit DuPage to just three second-half goals.

The Knights finished with 52 shots and 42 ground balls in a complete team effort as they opened conference play with a statement win.