CCBC Essex Begins Push Toward National Title

CCBC Essex faceoff specialist Brent Hiken is excited about next season when he is expected to play for Division III power

But before Hiken moves on, he has some unfinished business. He wants nothing more than to close his CCBC Essex career with an NJCAA national title.

The road to that elusive title begins at 7 p.m. Friday when the Knights take on in a Region XX semifinal game at .

CCBC Essex enters the game at 13-2 and ranked third in the latest NJCAA national poll. The Knights are the overwhelming favorites to capture the Region XX title as they try to reach the national finals for a third straight year.

“I want to end my career at CCBC Essex on top,” Hiken said. “We’ve worked so hard to reach this point and our expectations are so high this season. We believe we have the talent to go all the way, but we have to show that on the field.”

CCBC Essex coach Shawn Burke said Hiken is a big reason for the Knights success this year.

Hiken has been one of the most dominant faceoff specialists in the country; something fifth-ranked Monroe Community College found out when he won 22-of-27 opportunities in the Knights 22-8 win on April 20.

“When you can play make-it-take-it like that, it makes it really easy to jump out to leads, since the opposing offense gets so few opportunities to score,” Burke said.

Burke added that another reason for CCBC Essex’s success this year is the team’s balance on both ends of the field. The Knights have nine players with at least 13 goals this year, led by sophomore midfielder Neil Hutchinson () and freshman attack Andy Thrasher (), who each has 39.

Other key contributors for CCBC Essex include freshman midfielder Austin Spaulding (25 goals), freshman attack Ty Kashur (22, team-high 39 assists) and sophomore midfielder Rocco Pillero (21 goals).  Freshman attack Brian White (Fallston) has also had a strong season with 14 goals and 28 assists.

“We can run so many players out there, it makes us difficult to defend,” Burke said.

Hutchinson said he believes CCBC Essex is ready to make a run toward a championship, thanks to a challenging regular season. This included playing six of the top 10 NJCAA teams in the country, along with non-league games against , and Army Prep.

Hutchinson added that the Knights received the wake-up call they needed March 24 when they lost to second-ranked Nassau Community College, 12-8. CCBC Essex has won seven straight since that defeat.

“When you play a schedule like ours, there’s going to be some bumps along the way,” Hutchinson said. “But it only helped make us that much better of a team.”