Columbia, MD - The Dragons controlled possession for much of the 90 battle against powerhouse Frederick, but it was the Cougars who were able to find the back of the net as they defeated Howard 3-1. The loss was the first conference defeat for the Dragons on the year as they remain at the top of the conference standings. 

The brilliant footwork of Anderson Marroquin (Elkridge, MD/Hammond) was on display early as he cut around the Frederick defense on the left side and passed in the middle of the box where Lassana Diakite (Mali/Ceick Amla Diop) one-timed a shot right at the Frederick keeper. Marroquin created a chance for himself a minute later but had his low shot saved by the Cougar's Ismael Hernandez.

Despite all the great chances the Dragons created in the first half, it was the Cougars who scored first as Vagner Marques-Rodriguez hit a 30 yard shot that found the top left corner of the net.
 
The Dragons continued to pile on chances as they outshot the Cougars 29-17, but the excellent play by Hernandez and his 13 saves stifled the Dragons. Frederick would go on to score two more midway through the second half with Marques-Rodriguez scoring another goal and adding an assist.

Howard was able to pull one back when Andrew Flick (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) found Ismael Reyes (Silver Spring, MD/Paint Branch) in the middle of the field. Reyes hit a laser into the top corner of the net to finally beat Reyes and breathe some new life into the Howard faithful.

The Dragons had a couple more chances late as Marroquin had 13 shots in the game but couldn't find the scoring touch.
 
The tough stretch of conference games continues for the Dragons as they host Montgomery on Tuesday, September 17 at 4 PM.