Howard Community Colleges' men's lacrosse program secured its second consecutive region 20 championship.  This marks the first time in school history that the program won the title two years in a row.  In the game the Dragons defeated the Harford Community College Owls by a score of 17-9.
 
In the first quarter, Howard dominated Harford, jumping out to a commanding lead and never looked back.  The Dragons ended the first quarter with a score of 8-0.  Will Smith (Rockville, MD/Rockville) (Rockville, MD, Rockville) led the Dragons in scoring early, ending the first quarter with a team leading 3 goals.  Chris Rinehart (Sykesville, MD/Century) (Sykesville, MD, Century) was just behind Smith in the quarter adding 2 tallies himself.  Behind Smith and Rinehart, Ian Decker (Orlando, FL, Dr. Phillips), Braden Martin (Frederick, MD, Middletown), and Alex Stephanos (Ellicott City, MD, Howard) all added a goal to close out the quarter.
 
Rinehart scored quickly in the second quarter extending the lead by the Dragons to 9.  Harford got its first goal of the game in the second quarter on a goal from Reece Wiseman.  However, the Owls would only get 1 more goal in the half, which allowed the Dragons to extend its lead to 15-2 entering halftime. 
 
After the half, Howard came out looking to close out the game and secure its second region 20 title in as many seasons.  In the third quarter Howard outscored Harford again extending its lead by 1 goal going into the final quarter of action.  Rinehart, Smith, and Austin Norton (Annapolis, MD, Mount Saint Joseph) all added goals in the quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, Howard changed up its look, which didn't workout as well for the Dragons.  Howard opened up the scoring and got 2 goals to lead off the quarter, but after that the Owls ended the game on a 5-0 run.
 
Offensively, Will Smith (Rockville, MD/Rockville) and Chris Rinehart (Sykesville, MD/Century), who both scored 6 times on the day, led the Dragons.  Smith ended the game with one assist, while Rinehart led the team with 3 assists on his way to securing the region 20 offensive MVP award.
 
Defensively, TJ Ellis (Mount Airy, MD, Oakdale) played lights out, holding the Owls to 4 goals in 51 minutes of action on his way to winning the region 20 defensive MVP award.  Also, on the defensive side of the ball, Dayton Fisher (Hanover, MD, Howard) played strong against Harford, shutting down Eli Doyle who was coming off a 7-goal performance against Anne Arundel CC on Thursday.
 
A special congratulation goes out to all of the all Region XX tournament team selections, which are listed below.
 
All Region XX Tournament Team
 
# 6      Zachary Gussman     Fr.      Anne Arundel
# 15    William Harrison      So.      Anne Arundel
# 30    Nicholas  Kames       Fr.       Anne Arundel
#5       Eli Doyle                     Fr.       Harford 
# 13   Chris Stallings            So.      Harford
# 42   Shaun Vines               Fr.       Harford
# 45   Jeff Otenasek            Fr.        Harford
# 4     Alex Stephanos         So.        Howard
# 5    TJ Ellis                         So.        Howard
# 6     Will Smith (Rockville, MD/Rockville)                  So.        Howard 
#15    Chris Rinehart (Sykesville, MD/Century)           So.        Howard 
#41    Jared Thompson     So.         Howard 
 
Region XX Tournament Offensive and Defensive MVP
Defensive MVP    # 5   TJ Ellis                  So  Howard 
Offensive MVP   #15  Chris Rinehart (Sykesville, MD/Century)    So. Howard
 
Next up, the Dragons will return to action next Saturday May 5 at the Dragons Lair against the Harford Community College Owls for the first round of the NJCAA national tournament.  Stay tuned for more information regarding game time.