Men's Lacrosse: CCBC Essex Has Bright Future After Title Game Loss

CCBC Essex is sending several players to four-year schools next season, but head coach Shawn Burke should field another strong club in 2012.  

CCBC lost, 12-9, on May 15  to No. 1 seed Onondaga in the after the Knights advanced to the title game with a 6-5 win over No. 2 seed Nassau Community College the day before. The No. 3 seed Knights, who ended the year 15-3, lost in the title game for the second year in a row.  

"Both of those games were memorable, classic games," Burke told Patch on Thursday of these year's games. "Nassau is a traditional power."

The Knights led 5-1 in the title game before Onondaga came back to win.

"That was a hard-fought game. We gave great effort on Sunday," Burke said.  

The team drove back to Maryland after the game and arrived about 2 a.m. Monday.

"It was a long day," said Burke, who was pleased with his team's effort in both games. "I think we ran out of steam a little bit in the second game. You would have loved to have won. I could not ask for any more effort."  

Among the sophomores who will be moving on from the two-year school are Eastern Tech grads Luke Horner and Travis Crane, Eric Biller and Luke Phipps. Horner is slated to play at Division II Florida Southern, goalie Biller plans to play for Division III power Salisbury, Crane is headed to Maryland, and Phipps, an attack from John Carroll, is leaning toward Stevenson or Salisbury.

Another standout this season for Essex was sophomore Neil Willis, who was named the CCBC Essex male athlete of the year in a school awards ceremony on Wednesday night in White Marsh.  

Burke said top players slated to enter the program next season are Andy Thrasher (Fallston), Jay Butler (Bel Air) and Austin Spaulding (St. Mary's-Ryken). Thrasher is the all-time leading scorer at Fallston and Butler had five goals in a playoff game against Fallston.