Dryden, NY – The Dragons turned heads at the NJCAA Division III National Tournament quarterfinals when they took a first half lead over #2 ranked Delta College, but ultimately fell to the undefeated Pioneers 2-1 in double overtime.
 
The Pioneers had a couple of early chances in the first five minutes as one fast break was turned aside by defender Busi Sokoya (Columbia, MD/Long Reach) while a second was saved by goalkeeper Hailey Murray (Catonsville, MD/Catonsville) in a sliding effort in the first of six saves for the Howard netminder.
 
Delta continued to be effective on the fast break as a long ball over the Howard defense was latched onto by the Pioneers which gave them a one-on-one opportunity. Murray came off her line aggressively to cut off the angle and the shot was put around her off the post as it bounced across the goal line and cleared away by the Dragons defense as they were able to clear the ball away.
 
Howard had their first good chance at goal in the 28^th minute as a corner kick by Madalyn Nichols (Mt. Airy, MD/Glenelg) was put dangerously into the box, but a mysterious foul call stopped the Dragons ability to put the ball towards the net. Six minutes later, Mya McConnell (Columbia, MD/Howard) took the ball down the right side of the field and put in a low cross that was awkwardly taken care of by the Pioneers defense as the Dragons were asking questions of the Delta defense. Howard continued to keep the pressure up a couple minutes later as the ball bounced to Kayla Hatmaker (Woodbine, MD/Century) at the top of the box who took a long shot that went wide of the net. 
 
After getting an early yellow card for impeding a free kick, Lillian Scott (Catonsville, MD/Catonsville) found herself sent off the field in the 36^th minute as she collided with the Delta goalkeeper and was given a second yellow card which resulted in a red card ejection to put Howard down a player for the rest of the game.
 
With momentum going the way of Howard, the Dragons pressure caught the Pioneers by surprise on a long ball and were able to win a corner kick from it. On the corner, Nichols scored an Olimpico for the ages as she curled the corner over the Delta goalkeeper and into the net for her 30^th goal to give Howard the 1-0 lead in the closing minutes of the first half.
 
Coming out of the halftime break, the Dragons started to play much more conservatively with a player down and the lead as they began to park the bus. Delta kept the ball in the Howard side of the field for nearly the entire 20 minutes but struggled to get any real chances at the Dragons goal before they finally broke through with a long cross into the box by Claire Rousse that was finished from right in front of the Howard goal by Hannah Emington to tie the game at 1-1 in the 65^th minute.
 
The Dragons fought off wave after wave of Pioneer attacks with very few opportunities going the other way, but the Howard defense held firm and they were able to force overtime. Fatigue appeared to be setting in as the first overtime period saw both teams struggling to make any head way towards the opposing goal. Kylie Toler (Fulton, MD/Reservoir) battled her way in the middle of the field despite struggling with an apparent leg injury for much of the contest.
 
In the 107^th minute of play, it was a chipped through ball over the Howard defense that found Emington in the box who scored on an impressive one-touch shot to end the game and break the hearts of the Dragon faithful.
 
The Dragons will take on #3 ranked Mohawk Valley in the consolation match on Friday, November 15 at 1 PM.