Columbia, MD – A week of playing top opponents saw the Dragons take down Champlain College 3-1 to take control of second place in the NECC, but fell to the 6-0 Simon Fraser University in a five game thriller for the META Invitational.
In the first match of the week against Simon Fraser, the Dragons jumped ahead 2-0 on a couple of
Akaash Patel (/) goals. SFU scored a couple to tie it up before a
Jeremy Hotchkiss (Columbia, MD/Long Reach) late goal proved to be the game winner for Howard. Game two saw the Dragons shut out for the first time all season long as SFU was able to tie up the series at 1-1. Simon Fraser scored first in game three to make the Dragons start to sweat, but a long range goal by Patel then another one from Hotchkiss vaulted Howard ahead. A last minute insurance goal by Patel to go along with his three saves put the Dragons ahead 2-1 in the series. In game four, Hotchkiss set up Patel for the opening goal, but three straight SFU goals forced a fifth game. SFU got out to a great start and never let up as they took game five to win the series 3-2.
The Dragons peppered Champlain's side with shots early on and hit pay dirt just 30 seconds in by
Logan Ghandi (/). A couple minutes later it was a great team goal with Ghandi setting up
Akaash Patel (/) on a great centering pass as Howard stole away the opener. Game two saw the Dragons'
Jeremy Hotchkiss (Columbia, MD/Long Reach) score five seconds in, but Champlain tied it up just six seconds after that. Ghandi came flying through to take the lead for Howard, but Champlain scored the next four straight to tie the series at 1-1.
After giving up the first couple goals of game three, the Dragons caught a break as Patel's center ball was hit in for an own goal by Champlain. The Dragons kept the momentum going as Hotchkiss and Ghandi scored beautiful aerial goals to give Howard the lead. Two more goals by Howard meant five straight to take game three 5-2. The final game of the series was simply dominant by the Dragons as Champlain couldn't get out of their own zone as Howard closed out the series for a big win.
