ARNOLD, MD – The Anne Arundel Community College men's lacrosse team opened the season Saturday afternoon, hosting No. 5 ranked CCBC Essex at Siegert Field. The Riverhawks scored six second-half goals in a 20-7 loss.
Essex opened the game on a 7-0 run before Trevor Collier scored unassisted late in the first quarter. The Riverhawks' defense limited Essex to one second-quarter goal and a 4-for-7 clearing effort during the frame, but AACC couldn't turn that momentum into anything on the scoreboard. Despite outshooting the Knights in the frame, all five Riverhawks shots on goal were turned away by Essex starting keeper Piers McGinn.
Francis O'Hara struck first for the Riverhawks in the third quarter, but Essex took off on a five-goal run to solidify the lead. Sam Weisshaar stopped the streak with an unassisted tally midway through the frame before Essex closed it out by scoring three goals in the final two minutes to make it 16-3 headed into the fourth quarter.
After Essex added a pair to start the fourth, Weisshaar found long pole Niles Tinsley in transition. The tally marked the first in the defenseman's career sparked a Riverhawks three-goal run spanning just over a minute as Collier and Nick Barton followed with unassisted goals.
Essex added two more with just over four minutes remaining before AACC closed out the game on a goal from Patrick McGinley. Ethan Wise assisted the bang-bang goal with a quick pass from outside.
Overall Essex outshot the Riverhawks, 49-30, and generated a lot of offense from the faceoff x, winning 20 of 30 attempts on the day. AACC's man-down unit held the Knights to a 1-for-6 man-up performance, while the Riverhawks man-up group scored once in three opportunities – O'Hara's unassisted tally in the third.
AACC's defense caused 11 of Essex's 19 turnovers, led by three CT's from Tinsley. AACC goalkeeper Griffin Tucker made five saves in his Riverhawks' debut. McGinn made six stops and allowed three goals in the first three quarters for Essex before giving way to Jacob Lantz, who made four saves while allowing four goals in the fourth quarter.
Anne Arundel is back in action on Tuesday, March 23 in a 5 pm home game against Delaware Tech. AACC takes on Essex again in a Region XX game at Essex on Saturday, March 27th.