Columbia, MD - The Howard Community College Esports program won their first match in program history, defeating NCAA Division I Valparaiso University 2-0 in the final match of the New England Collegiate Conference placement tournament.

The Dragons faced a powerhouse Midland University in their first match of the tournament and fell 2-0 as the Warriors went undefeated in the season opening tournament. Howard then went up against California State University Dominguez Hills and put up a good fight before ultimately falling 2-0 to the Toros.

In the last match of the day, the Dragons went up against the Valparaiso University Crusaders where it all came together for a dominating performance as Howard took the match 2-0 with game scores of 3-0 and 3-1. Led by team captain Darien Hundley (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills) alonmg with big contributions from Jocef Dorsey (Laurel, MD/Homeschool), Chris Ikpefua (Columbia, MD/Atholton), Paul Delfico (Ellicott City, MD/Mount St. Joseph), Marcelo Rodriguez (Windsor Mill, MD/Lansdowne), and Paul Gaylon (Halethorpe, MD/Lansdowne), the Dragons put on a clinic during their attacking turn and held on strong for their defensive round to take the win.

Howard will now wait to see where they will be placed in the NECC regular season which is set to kick off on Thursday, September 17.