Trenton, NJ - The Dragons men's soccer team in their opening weekend swing through New Jersey, as they fell to Mercer County 7-2 before a 2-1 loss at Rowan Burlington.

Howard fell behind 1-0 midway through the first half, but tied it as a Jose Garcia (El Salvador/Colegio San Franciso) cross was volleyed into the net by Andrew Flick (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial). The Vikings answered back with four straight goals before a Kevin Ngatou (Laurel, MD/Laurel) goal was scored thanks to a Bradley Muma (Silver Spring, MD/Paint Branch) assist to pull one back.

Freshman goalkeeper Darbouzeson Casseus (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills) made seven saves in the effort as Howard only managed to get two shots on goal the entire game, but was able to score both of them.

In game two of the weekend, Howard traveled to Rowan Burlington and battled it out with the Barons. Rowan Burlington went up with a first half goal 23 minutes into the game. The Dragons tied it up early in the second half as a Garcia cross found freshman Yusuf Yusuf (Laurel, MD/Laurel) in the box for his first collegiate goal. The game turned after that as the Dragons were forced to play a man down when Brandon Muma (Silver Spring, MD/Paint Branch) was sent off for a red card. The Barons took advantage and scored the eventual game winning goal in the 75th minute to seal the victory.

Howard piled on the shots including four each from Alexander Estrada (Ellicott City, MD/Oakland Mills) and Anderson Marroquin (Elkridge, MD/Hammond), but were not able to salvage any points from the match.

The Dragons will kick off their first conference game of the season on Wednesday, August 28 as they travel to CCBC Catonsville.