Annandale, VA – The Dragons came through with a huge divisional win as they pulled out a 5-2 victory against Northern Virginia.
With several Howard sophomore stars suffering injuries in their previous game against CCBC Essex, the Dragons needed other players to step up and fill bigger roles in the side. One of those is
Walter Gonzalez (), who in the 11
th minute was able to pass it inside the box to
Anderson Marroquin (Elkridge, MD/Hammond) who expertly hit the ball into the back of the net.
Howard doubled up the lead less than two minutes later as it was Gonzalez again pulling the strings as his cross to the back post found
Brandon Muma (Silver Spring, MD/Paint Branch) for an open shot into the net.
The Dragons made it 3-0 after 21 minutes as Marroquin scored his NJCAA Division III leading 15
th goal of the season on a
Lassana Diakite (Mali/LCAD) assist. Northern Virginia shot back quickly as Ismael Ayala scored two past
Darbouzeson Casseus (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills) to end the first half.
Eight minutes into the second half, a Howard corner kick by
Julio Medrano (Hyattsville, MD/High Point) fell to
Bradley Muma (Silver Spring, MD/Paint Branch) as he powered the ball into the net for a critical insurance goal.
In the 73
rd minute, it was
Luis Wardcantori (Fulton, MD/Reservoir) who got his chance to contribute to the scoresheet as he was fed a beautiful cross by
Alexander Estrada (Ellicott City, MD/Oakland Mills) to put the Dragons in a position to comfortably come away with a big win.
With the win, the Dragons are now 2-0 in regional play, trailing only the 3-0 Prince George's Owls with a big October 8 meeting between the two teams looming.
Howard will next return to a Md Juco conference opponent as they host the College of Southern Maryland Hawks on Tuesday, October 1 for a 4 PM contest.
