Columbia, MD – A traditional conference rivalry resulted in a physical contest as the Howard Dragons fell to the Montgomery Raptors 4-1.
A poor clearance by goalkeeper
Seiba Rizk (Highland, MD/River Hill) was pounced upon by the Raptors Francisco Mangue who took advantage of the opportunity, scoring just 47 seconds into the game.
A physical first half resulted in the Dragons being shown three cards including a straight red card to
Luis Wardcantori (Fulton, MD/Reservoir); leaving the Dragons a man down for the remaining 68 minutes of play.
Winning a free kick just outside the box, the Raptors Jesus Reyes took a shot hit the cross bar twice and bounced passed Rizk, putting the Raptors up two with 28 minutes left to play in the first half.
The Raptors scored again just two minutes later and a Keino Thompson free kick found Khalb Mesfin in the box to give Montgomery a 3-0 lead going into the halftime break.
With Howard desperate for some momentum, they pushed hard up right out of the gates in the second half, getting the ball to
Lassana Diakite (Mali/Ceick Amla Diop) in the box who expertly turned on the Raptors defense and was pulled down to earn a penalty shot.
Anderson Marroquin (Elkridge, MD/Hammond) took the shot from the spot and Montgomery goal keeper Yvan Moundou, who had just entered the game 48 seconds earlier, was sent the wrong way to get Howard on the board less than a minute into the second half.
All hope of a comeback was erased seven minutes later as a Jeison Caballero shot was saved by second half goalkeeper
Darbouzeson Casseus (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills), but the rebound went right to Joseph Kitengie who tapped the ball into the open net.
Both teams had chances intermittently throughout the rest of the second half.
Alexander Estrada (Ellicott City, MD/Oakland Mills) connected his head with two of
Lassana Diakite's (Mali/Ceick Amla Diop) corner kicks only to see both saved by Moundou.
Howard will next travel to Anne Arundel for a critical conference and regional game on Friday, September 20 at 7 PM.
