Bel Air, MD – The Dragons dominant defensive performance, particularly in the first half, helped Howard to a 13-7 win over the Anne Arundel Riverhawks to earn a place in the regional tournament championship game.

A sloppy first quarter saw both teams work their possession clocks down with few good scoring chances coming about.

With the shot clock running low, Colvin Prosser (Kennesaw, GA/Lassiter) ripped a shot off the crossbar to get a reset which led to Drew Goode (Gambrills, MD/Arundel) picking up the rebound and making a move inside to score the opening goal 11 minutes into the game.

Prosser was able to find the net just two minutes later as he got inside the defense and faked the Anne Arundel goalkeeper out of his shoes to dunk it in. The Dragons won the ensuing face-off and Prosser picked up a ground ball on a rebounded shot and scored 13 seconds after his first.

Bobby Solomon (Fairfax, VA/Woodson) got his name on the scoreboard for his team leading 41^st goal of the season.

Tim Russell (Catonsville, MD/Catonsville) was unbeatable in the first half including a save on a high shot hunting for a corner followed by a low bouncer that he smothered on back-to-back possessions.

Jake Polinsky (Sykesville, MD/Marriotts Ridge) was put in as an attacker late in the second quarter and immediately rewarded the decision with a close range goal to put the Dragons up 5-0.

Anne Arundel finally scored after 25 minutes of play with Russell saving the first six shots that came his way as he finished with 13 saves on the day.

Polinsky scored again right in front of the Riverhawks crease to give Howard a 6-1 lead going into the halftime break.

Jeremy Sforzo (Vail, CO/Battle Mountain) continued to be the assist master for the Dragons as he set up Jackson Krasny (Hagerstown, MD/St. Maria Goretti) at the top of the key for the long range goal into the top corner.

On the ensuing face-off, Jake Griffin (Eldersburg, MD/Liberty) won the ball cleanly and ran straight down the channel to score his third goal of the season and the momentum of the third quarter was clearly with Howard.

Krasny and Solomon scored goals 40 seconds apart and Howard took a 10-3 lead late in the third quarter.

Johnny Chaisson (Glenwood, MD/Glenelg) scored one for the long poles with a minute left in the third period and the Dragons took a commanding 11-4 lead into the final period.

Solomon completed his hat trick on a man-up goal midway through the fourth quarter to break up the potential Riverhawk momentum and Krasny picked up a hat trick of his own to clinch a win for the men in maroon.

Howard will now take on the #1 seed Harford Fighting Owls in the championship game on Sunday, May 5 at 1 PM at Harford Community College. The Fighting Owls won the regular season contest between the teams in a low scoring 11-6 game. The winner of the regional championship will earn an automatic bid into the national tournament.