Box Score
BEL AIR, Md.—Sophomore keeper Taylor Dize (Bel Air, Md./Salem Christian) was in rare form and tied his career-high with 14 saves, but the Harford men's soccer team offense couldn't manage to give him any support as No. 4 Harford fell to No. 1 CCBC-Essex, 2-0, in the NJCAA Region XX Tournament semifinal on Wednesday night at Harford Stadium.
The Fighting Owls (8-9-2) had their chances, but couldn't sneak one past Essex keeper Martin Copeland, while the Knights (13-7) scored late in the first half and added an insurance goal on a penalty kick with just nine seconds remaining in the second.
Eddie Yah notched the eventual game-winner for Essex as he fired a rocket at Dize, which the keeper deflected away, but couldn't control as Yah gathered the rebound and found the lower right corner at the 39:56 mark.
Harford would see its best chance to even the score during the 79th minute as freshman Jon Bizzell (Kingsville, Md./Redeemer Classical) fed sophomore Santi Meija (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) on the right side. Meija fired from about 12 yards out, but just missed his mark as the ball ricocheted off the far left post.
Inderjeet Aujla would add the insurance as he converted a penalty kick after freshman Corey Schmidt (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) was carded with nine seconds left in the game, at 89:51. The card was the fifth of the night for the Owls, who also saw sophomores Bryan Young (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford), Brian Six (Pylesville, Md./North Harford), Meija and Jared Ferguson (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) pick up cautions during the 49th, 75th, 80th and 87th minutes, respectively.
The Knights picked up two yellow cards on the night, as well, with Kevin Eshman and Matt Wilson being whistled during the 54th and 71st minutes.
Essex outshot Harford 27-10 and held an 8-5 advantage on corners, while the Owls were whistled for 14 fouls to the Knights' nine. Dize tied his career-high of 14 saves (which he first achieved on Sept. 17, 2008 at Brookdale), but it was the first time that he would record that high of a total in 90:00 as the game against Brookdale went to double overtime and ended in a 0-0 tie. Copeland stopped four shots for Essex in 90:00
No. 1 CCBC-Essex advances to the Region XX Championship Final on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., where they will meet No. 3 College of Southern Maryland who advanced by virtue of a 2-1 win over No. 2 Hagerstown on Wednesday afternoon. The Region XX women's semifinals begin on Thursday at Harford Stadium with a 3:00 p.m. matchup between No. 2 Anne Arundel and No. 3 College of Southern Maryland before No. 1 Harford hosts No. 5 CCBC-Essex at 5:30 p.m.
Full stats and results for all tournament games as well as links to in-game LiveStats can be found at 2009 Region XX Tournament Central.
