Cardinals Defeat Lynx 6-3 for 7th Win of Season

By Isaac Donsky

Catonsville, Md. -- Amidst a persistent mist Tuesday night at Joseph P. Murray Stadium, the CCBC Catonsville Cardinals defeated the Carroll Community College Lynx 6-3 for their seventh win of the season.

 Despite the adverse conditions, the Cardinals (7-4-2) racked up six goals on 21 shots, the most goals they've scored at home all season.

 "We haven't won at home in a while so it was great to get a win," said sophomore midfielder Ronmel Alfaro (Old Mill). "Now we just need to keep the momentum up while we get ready for the playoffs."

 Catonsville opened the scoring in the 12th minute when freshman forward Christian Angel (Chesapeake) converted a deep pass from freshman midfielder Matt Davis (Eastern Tech) into his 11th goal of the season.

The Cardinals added two more goals to extend their lead to 3-0, as freshman striker Williams Yami (Duval) scored in the 16th minute off a pass from Angel, then fired a pass that Alfaro redirected into the net in the 27th minute.

 Carroll (1-7) would finally respond in the 30th minute, as freshman Joseph Brauer broke loose from his defender and scored, making it 3-1. That was as close as the Lynx would get, as Catonsville responded immediately.

In the 35th minute, Lynx goalkeeper Tim Wolf deflected a shot that fell right into the path of Yami, who booted it in to make the score 4-1 at the half.

 The Cardinals extend their lead at the beginning of the second half, as Alfaro scored an incredible goal. Sneaking behind a Lynx defender, Alfaro took a risky shot from the corner, which somehow slipped past Wolf to make it 5-1.

 "I took a good touch I guess," said Alfaro. "As a striker, you should probably finish on the second post, but I like finishing on the first post."

 The rest of the second half was a defensive masterclass by CCBC Catonsville, as Cardinals' freshman goalkeeper Keyshawn Bland (Broadneck) made several excellent saves to keep the Lynx at bay.

 "For a big guy, Keyshawn gets down well," said goalkeeper coach Brian Greuter. "He smothers well and doesn't allow rebounds. I think he stepped up well to save pretty much everything that he could."

 Bland finished the game with four saves and now has 52 for the season.

 With the game well in hand, the Cardinals trotted out their reserves to finish the game.

In the 69th minute, freshman midfielder Casey Grantham (Arundel) sealed Carroll's fate with his first collegiate goal, sending a pass from Yami deep into the back of the net.

"In a game like that, you're going to give a lot of time to guys who normally don't see much first-team time," said Greuter. "You're always going to be interested to see how they step up and how they play, not just individually, but as a team."

 The Lynx would add two late scores from freshman Alec Wargo in the 85th and 89th minutes, bringing the final score to 6-3.

The next home game for the Cardinals is on Tuesday, October 12th at 4:00 p.m. against Frederick Community College.

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