Arnold, MD- Howard fell behind in the second half, but were able to come from behind to defeat Anne Arundel 3-2 in the Region 20 Division III tournament semifinals.

When the Dragons and the Riverhawks met in the regular season on September 20, Howard was able to squeak by with a 2-1 win. The postseason meeting between the two rivals proved to be even closer.

In the 14^th minute, Anthony Perez (Columbia, MD/Hammond) curled a corner kick that was headed for the goal, but Riverhawks goalkeeper Brenden LeMaster was able to just tip it out of the net. As the Dragons continued to pressure, Anderson Marroquin (Elkridge, MD/Hammond) took a ball to the corner and sent a booming shot just over the crossbar.

With 12 minutes left in the first half, the Dragons started to pick up the pace towards the Anne Arundel side of the field. Perez cleared a ball from the back and found Marroquin who beat his defender around the outside and drove a shot towards the bottom left corner. Leman made a diving save that bounced off his hands and right to the feet of Lassana Diakite (Mali/LCAD) for the tap in to give Howard the lead going into halftime.

As the second half started the tensions were high as just a few minutes into the half, another corner from Perez left the Riverhawks keeper nervous as it curved just over the post.

Howard goalkeeper Seiba Rizk (Highland, MD/River Hill) was forced to come off his line and make a save when a high-flying kick was shot into the box from Zeiad Elsayed.

In the 63^rd minute,  Angel Calderon won a contested ball in the middle of the field. Rizk aggressively came out to stop the fast break, but Calderon hit an effective chip from 30 yards out to tie the game.

Just two minutes later, the Riverhawks took a free kick from just outside the 18 yard box. The Alex Calogero shot was saved by Rizk, but Asende Mmandama was first to the rebounded ball and tapped it into the empty net to put the Riverhawks up 2-1 with 24 minutes remaining in regulation. 

Luis Wardcantori (Fulton, MD/Reservoir) was subbed into the game for the Dragons to inject some fresh legs into the game and made an immediate impact as he volleyed a cross dangerously into the box. It was brought down by Marroquin who's shot then ricocheted off the goalkeeper, but Alexander Estrada (Ellicott City, MD/Oakland Mills) was in the right place at the right time to knock the ball into the back of the net and tie the game up with under 20 minutes to go.

Less than 10 minutes later, Perez won yet another 50/50 ball in the center circle and tipped it with his head to the foot of Marroquin. Marroquin took a touch and was left wide open for a shot. He sent a banger to the upper right corner for his 28^th goal of the season to put the Dragons up with just a few minutes to go.

Just moments after Marroquin was subbed off, Lassana Diakite (Mali/LCAD) drove hard to the goal and got fouled inside the box for a Dragons penalty kick. Marroquin stepped back on the field for the Dragons to take the kick, but LeMaster guessed correctly and was able to knock it away. Howard would professionally kill off the rest of the clock and come away with a hard fought victory against the tournament hosts.
 
With the win, the Dragons advance to the Division III Region 20/Appalachian District championship. The Dragons will play Oxford Emory on Saturday, November 2nd at 2 pm with a bid to the national tournament on the line.