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Men's Lacrosse: CCBC Essex Standout No Stranger to Division I

After one season at Jacksonville in Florida, sophomore attack Luke Phipps of John Carroll wanted to be closer to home.

Many athletes attend a community or junior college with an eye for trying to make the move to Division I after one or two seasons at the lower level.

For 5-foot-9 Luke Phipps, a sophomore attack for the nationally ranked CCBC Essex men's lacrosse team, the Division I level is something he has already experienced.

After graduating from high school at John Carroll, he was a reserve last spring as a freshman for Jacksonville University in Florida. It was the first full season at the Division I level for men's lacrosse at the school, where former CCBC coach and UMBC player Brian Duncan is an assistant coach.

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"He is what I consider a plus shooter," CCBC Essex coach Shawn Burke said of Phipps. "If he can get his hands free and is within range, he has great accuracy and great velocity on his shot. The way our offense is set up, we have had a lot of success with left-handers putting up numbers, and that is what he has done. He is the beneficiary of how our offense is set up."

"I believe my strength is speed and quickness," Phipps said. "The way our offense works, I get a great amount of shots on the left side."

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Phipps had 32 goals in the first 11 games, which ranked him No. 9 in the nation as he was named MD JUCO men's lacrosse player of the month in March. Dixon Green of CCBC Essex had 23 goals in the first 11 games, which put him at No. 17 in the country.

So why did Phipps leave a Division I program for a junior college?

"I just decided it was better to be re-recruited," said Phipps, who is studying business and also wanted to be closer to home.

So how would he compare Division I with a top-notch junior college program?

"Between the schedule and practices [during the season] it is pretty similar," he said. "The only difference I would say is the lifting is not as serious [at CCBC Essex] out of season. In the fall it was pretty rigorous at Jacksonville. We would lift three days per week."

He's been in touch with several schools, including Division III power Salisbury, Stevenson, Tampa and Ohio Wesleyan.

"I would love to know what I am doing by the end of this season," he said.

The Knights dropped to 9-2 on the season following Thursday's 23-8 loss at top-ranked and defending national champion Onondaga Community College (NY).

This came after CCBC Essex won 20-3 at home on Saturday over Suffolk Community College. Phipps had four goals and three assists.

"We are trying to jell together as a team and come together as a team," Phipps said. "Our defense has been great."

Matt Hunter from Florida had four goals, Christian Leone of Connecticut had three goals and Zach Gagnon of California had three assists in the win over Suffolk.

Baseball Team Records Strong Pitching

The CCBC-Essex baseball team has had strong pitching this season from several players, including Nicholas Morton and Blake Geiger. Morton was 5-1 with an ERA of 2.91 in his first 34 innings and allowed just 31 hits. Geiger was 3-2 with a  1.12 ERA  in his first 40 innings and allowed just 21 hits.

The Knights' leading hitters were Matt Edwards (.364 in 88 at-bats), Greg Myers (.359 in 64 at-bats) and Mike Romano, who hit .318 in his first 85 trips to the plate. Sophomore catcher David Williams, a product of Eastern Tech, hit .280 in his first 82 at bats.

The Knights were 15-14 after a win over Prince George's Community College on April 15. This week will be big for CCBC Essexthey face Harford Community College (31-8, 12-4 MD JUCO) at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen.

Women's Lacrosse Falls to 0-10

The women's lacrosse team at CCBC-Essex fell to 0-10 with a 23-3 loss on Monday to Anne Arundel Community College. The leading scorers for the Knights are Paige Orphin and Julie Hofmann. Orphin had 19 goals in her first eight games, while Hofmann had 11 goals in her first eight games.

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