If the opening game is any indication of the season to come, Howard CC men's lacrosse fans could be in for an exciting year as the Dragons defeated the ASA Avengers 21-1. Sophomore captain  Scott Dagnanleach (Hazel Grove, UK, Hazel Grove High School) enjoyed a ton of success in his first game playing as an attackman for the Dragons as he paced the Dragons in their rout. The victory puts a tally in the win column for the Dragons to start the season which provided the confidence booster they need going forward.

The Dragons dominated possession from start to finish thanks in large part to a strong defensive display led by captains Parese Williams (Wilmington NC, New Hanover HS) and Peter Emery (Ellicott City, MD, Howard High School) as HCC forced ASA into 37 turnovers on the day; 15 of which came from attempted clears by the visiting team. Freshman long stick midfielder Trey Lundelius (Bethesda, MD, The Landon School) also impressed in his collegiate debut with 3 groundballs and 4 caused turnovers.

New face-off specialist Matthew Jun (Clarksville, MD, River Hill High School) showed off his lightning quick hands as he won 18-21 faceoffs and collected 11 groundballs as well as chipping in a goal and an assist. 

But the big story of the game was the dominance of the Dragons offense led by Dagnanleach's incredible 5 goal 4 assist performance. His fellow captain Austin Mitchell (Laurel, MD, Reservoir High School) used his prototypical size and strength to add 2 goals and 1 assist while freshmen Kevin Curcio (Lancaster, PA, Manheim Township), Jackson Downs (Olney, MD, Sherwood High School), and Zach Beard (Clarksville, MD, River Hill High School) added 2 goals each to the Dragons efforts. HCC outshot ASA 58-15 on the day and almost doubled the groundballs of the visiting side.

New goalie Mark Bowser (Carlisle, PA, Carlisle High School) showed his flashy saves in his limited action allowing just 1 goal on six shots while back-up Brandon Andrews (Columbia, MD, St. Vincent Pallotti) put up a goose-egg 4th quarter saving 2 shots.

HCC will face a little stiffer competition in their next match as they travel to Syracuse, NY to take on the venerable Onondaga CC Lazers on Saturday March 5th at 1:00 PM. The Lazers continue to add to their NJCAA records with 7 consecutive national championships and 106 consecutive victories; a streak the Dragons would love to break.