The Dragons women's soccer team in their second game of the season were ecstatic when the buzzer sounded and they came out victorious against Oxford College of Emory University. After the disappointing 1-0 loss last year, their only regular season loss of 2015, the team attacked the game with vengeance to improve their record to 2-0 on the season.

    Within the first half, the Dragons came out on offense and applied pressure.  Brittany Wartman (Ellicott City, MD, Mt. Hebron HS) wasn't afraid of a stacked defense that Oxford College had planned.  She tested these players with five shots, three of them on goal.  With the help of Savanna Holt (West Friendship, MD, Glenelg High School) and Alex Hinkle (Woodstock, MD, Marriotts Ridge), it was obvious that the defense was struggling to keep them contained and away from midfield.  As the game continued, the Oxford Eagles regrouped, and forced the Dragons to play defense. 

Savannah Hill (Laurel, MD, South Carroll HS), starting goalie for the Dragons, took charge in the back and didn't allow any of the four shots to slip though. Lydia White (Columbia, MD/Cedar Brook Academy) (Columbia, MD, Cedar Brook Academy), frustrated with the coverage of her defense, snagged at any available ball that was coming her way, and was able to change the pace of the first half.  With one swift touch, White and the rest of the team marched forward with the ball, taking it to any open space that they could find.  This resulted in a shot on goal, ultimately saved by the Eagles goalie. 

The second half started at the same pace as the first half, except that the ball was on a path that only the Dragons knew where its destination was; the Eagle's goal. Coach Kate Seagroves saw opportunities in the first 45 minutes that the Dragons needed to capitalize on.  As the ball was passed around defenders and through open spaces, White knew that this was her time to shine.  The defenders hadn't noticed her position and saw a breakdown in the defense that would only happen once; she had to attack now.  A quick glance to  Wartman, and Lydia White (Columbia, MD/Cedar Brook Academy) knew what she had to do.  Both sprinted past the midfield only to have realized that they were alone, in open field with two defenders attempting to stop them.  Form a combination of White's cross and Wartman's angle of the goal, the ball only had one target, the goal. 

From here the momentum switched as Tina Gray (Laurel, MD, Reservoir HS) and Aleena Walters (Mt. Airy, MD, South Carroll HS) were seeing space and invaded the Eagle's territory continuously throughout the second half. One corner and 11 shots later in the second half, the Dragon's came away with a victory. The Howard Community College Dragons took down the Oxford College Eagles with teamwork and understood the importance of taking advantage of events within the game.
 
The Dragons will continue their grueling road trip next weekend as they travel to New Jersey to take on Ocean County College on Saturday September 3rd at 1 PM.