Sports

Former Fallston Teammates Key to CCBC Essex Wins

Freshmen attackmen Andy Thrasher and Brian White have helped the Knights men's lacrosse team jump out to a 3-1 start to the season.

 

Andy Thrasher and Brian White have been teammates as long as they could remember.

The lacrosse duo played together for years in recreation leagues in Harford County and was later on the varsity team for all four years in high school at . Now, Thrasher and White are starting attackmen for CCBC Essex.

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Thrasher and White have been key contributors as freshmen for the Knights, who are 3-1 and ranked second in the nation among NJCAA schools. Thrasher has 16 goals and two assists while White has seven goals and seven assists heading into Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. game at .

“We’re pretty good friends and playing together as long as we have made the transition to college easier,” said Thrasher, 18, who is majoring in business administration.

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White echoes his teammate's sentiment. He said having played with Thrasher since elementary school, he knows where to find him on the field and believes that familiarity will be even more helpful as CCBC Essex gets into the heart of its schedule.

This includes home games against (March 24), (April 10), Genesse Community College (April 14) and Monroe Community College (April 20), which are ranked second, eighth, fifth and sixth in the nation, respectively.

“Every team we face brings their best because of the success we’ve had here,” said White, 19, who is also majoring in business. “We need to be at the top of our game every time out if we want to win a .”

CCBC Essex coach Shawn Burke said recruiting former high school teammates like Thrasher and White is a big help in junior college athletics, which has constant roster turnover each year.

Burke said he has had a lot of success recruiting players from Fallston in recent years, several of whom have gone on to four-year schools. Another current Knight, defenseman , is set to go to UMBC next year.

It also doesn’t hurt that Burke and Fallston coach Matt Parks grew up together and are longtime friends.

“Fallston players come to us ready to compete at the next level,” Burke said. “They are well-coached and understand the fundamentals of the game.

“Andy and Brian are perfect examples of that. They also complement each other on the field as Andy is more of a scorer and Brian likes to distribute the ball more. They just fit together so well on this team.”

CCBC Essex Women’s Lacrosse Wins Again

Freshman midfielder Aloise Diedrich scored a game-high six goals as the Knights defeated nationally-ranked , 21-9, Tuesday night in Essex.

CCBC Essex, ranked eighth in the latest NJCAA poll, trailed 2-0 before it scored seven straight. Howard, ranked seventh in the nation, then scored four in a row before Essex closed out the first half on a 5-1 run to lead 12-7.

The Knights then outscored Howard 9-2 in the second half as they improved to 3-0 on the year. The win represents CCBC Essex’s first MD JUCO win since 2005.

CCBC Essex next plays at 11 a.m. Saturday when it hosts Brookdale Community College (N.J.)


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