The College of Southern Maryland men’s soccer team picked up its first win of the season Tuesday, shutting out CCBC Catonsville 1-0 at home in La Plata to improve to 1-1 under new head coach Scott Kopicko.
Sophomore midfielder Stephen Jones scored the game’s only goal in the 57th minute, finishing off an assist from Blaine Ganley. It held up the rest of the way behind a strong performance in net from goalkeeper Matthew Knapp, who turned away all five shots he faced to preserve the clean sheet. CCBC Catonsville’s Fuad Folorunsho made three saves in the loss.
The win comes five days after CSM opened its season with a 4-3 loss to Harford Community College — a tough introduction to the Kopicko era after the Hawks went 4-9-4 last season. Kopicko was hired in June following a standout run as junior varsity head coach at Leonardtown High School, where his teams went 30-2-4 over three seasons and helped the program to a state championship.
Tuesday’s shutout also marked an early return on what appears to be a shift in Knapp’s role. A La Plata product who earned All-Region 20 First Team and All-Maryland JUCO Second Team honors in 2025, Knapp spent most of last season on the field rather than in goal, scoring 15 goals with two assists across 16 matches while making only two starts in net. This year, he appears to be settling into a full-time role between the posts — and delivered a shutout in the process.
Catonsville came into the match already searching for its first win, having opened its own season with a lopsided 7-1 loss at Montgomery College. The Cardinals are playing under interim head coach Karmo Bolay, who took over in January after the program’s previous coach stepped down last fall. Three Catonsville players — Nicholas Bezek, Henry Machado and Jayden Antwi — picked up yellow cards in the match’s closing stages.
CSM has had the Cardinals’ number in recent meetings, including a 4-0 win in 2022 and a 4-3 victory in 2023.
