Three CCBC Essex players from Dundalk-Edgemere wait to enter a recent game against Bryant and Stratton College (from left): Jakki Sites (Sparrows Point High School), Shelby Buettner (Patapsco) and Jessica Scoggins (Baltimore Lutheran).    photo by Bill Gates

Ten members of squad, coaches are from area

by Bill Gates

    When CCBC Essex women’s soccer midfielder Melissa Wampler has the ball, she can look downfield to forward Sarah Hoar – just like she did for four years at Sparrows Point High School.
    On defense, Knights goalkeeper Meghan Heath knows from experience how hard it is to get past onetime Sparrows Point fullbacks Jakki Sites and Lauren Miller; her Patapsco High squad never beat the Pointers during Heath’s four years.
    What was the shortest part of the first Essex women’s soccer team meeting for this season? Introductions.
    Ten of the 17 players are from Dundalk-Edgemere and have played with or against each other for most of their soccer lives.
     “We work well together,” said Miller, one of four freshmen (along with Wampler, Sites and Hoar) on the team who graduated from Sparrows Point last year. “Even the [Patapsco and Eastern Tech grads], I know them all through rec sports and playing club ball.”
    In addition to Heath, Patapsco is represented by freshmen midfielders Shelby Buettner and Samone Maddox.
    Tara Carpenter, a sophomore fullback, and Sarah Wilson, a sophomore midfielder, are Old Dundalk residents who attended Eastern Tech, while freshman midfielder Jessica Scoggins lives off Holabird Avenue and attended Baltimore Lutheran.
    “I think it makes things a lot easier,” Carpenter said of having so many local players on the same team. “I already know how they play, how they pass and everything else.”
    Scoggins played on the boys varsity team for two years at Lutheran, which does not have a girls outdoor soccer team.
    “It’s one of the reasons [her style of play] is so physical,” said Essex coach Geoff Holland, who was the Dundalk High boys varsity head coach for 11 years.
    Holland’s assistant coaches also have Dundalk connections: his father, George, was his assistant with the Dundalk varsity, while Amy Miller is a former Dundalk High girls varsity soccer head coach.
    It isn’t by accident or coincidence the CCBC Essex women’s team has such a strong Dundalk presence.
    When Geoff Holland was given the task of rebuilding the Essex program in 2008 (the team had folded in 2007 due to lack of players), he knew where he was going to focus his recruiting.
    (CCBC Dundalk does not have a women’s soccer team, but Dundalk students can play for Essex or CCBC Catonsville.)
    “I knew I needed to tap into the eastside teams,” Holland said. “There’s tons of talent in this area. I wanted to give those girls a place to play and get them into four-year schools.
    “I’m not looking to go outside the area and bring in players. The girls from this area are strong, physical and have had good coaching.”
    The Knights finished 3-11 last season. This year’s team, with its influx of 12 freshmen (eight from Dundalk-Edgemere), was 3-5 going into Wednesday’s game at Cecil County Community College (1-8).
    Two of Essex’s losses were in double overtime,  to College of Southern Maryland, 2-1, and Cape Fear, 3-2.
    The Knights dropped four straight after a 2-1 start but broke the losing streak with a 2-0 victory over visiting Howard County on Sept. 23.
    Heath is ranked sixth among goalkeepers in the Maryland JuCo League, stopping 84 of 99 shots on goal.
    After shutting out Howard County, Heath’s goals-against average is 1.88. She also helped shut out Frederick County, 4-0, and allowed one goal in a 4-1 win over Nassau.
    Heath had 21 saves in a 4-0 loss to Rhode Island in the season opener.
    That was her first “real” game back as goalkeeper after spending her senior year at Patapsco playing in the field.
    “We asked Meghan to go back to the net, and she committed to it,” Holland said. “She has worked very hard to get better and does everything we ask.”
    Hoar leads the team in goals with four, while Wampler leads Essex in scoring with three goals and four assists.
    Hoar had a goal and an assist during a tough 3-2 loss to Maryland JuCo-leading Harford County Community College (9-1).
    Heath had 21 saves during the loss to Harford, during which Essex led 1-0 and 2-1.
    “We let it slip away,” Holland said. “We’ve made tons of progress since my first season. We’re now in games, and people don’t look at us as a free win.
    “And we have numbers. I can go to my bench and not lose any quality of play.”
    Essex has seven consecutive road games before returning home for the regular-season finale against Montgomery-Rockville on Oct. 20.
    If the Knights can finish around .500, Holland expects them to receive an invitation to the Region XX tournament.
    “If things go right, we should win our next two games,” Holland said. “Then we go to New Jersey for two games, and maybe we can steal one of them. Then we’re shooting to win two of our last three.
    “Even if we finish a little below .500, with two double-overtime losses, we’ll likely get into the regional tournament.”
    The regional tournament is scheduled for Oct. 29 and 31 at Harford.
    Even if Essex doesn’t reach the .500 mark or play in the postseason, Holland feels the program is in good shape.
    “We’re stressing academics, too,” he said. “We restructured this year, putting in study halls and academic monitoring so our players can be successful all around.”
    Holland is also looking to bring in several more Dundalk-area players for next season.
    The Essex women’s program used to be a national power, with nine regional titles and two NJCAA national championships (1983, 1993).
    Holland intends for the women’s team to join the Essex men’s program at that level.
    “I want to reach that next tier, like the guys’ team,” Holland said. “And we can do it with players from this area.
    “The system I coach is very similar to what these girls have grown up playing. I played with their fathers and against their fathers while growing up. They play hard, and they play strong.”