Columbia, MD - A Dragons team that was firing on all cylinders was able to stun the traditionally strong Frederick Cougars in an 8-2 rout.

Things started out great for the Dragons in the first minute of the game as a run by Dylan Portillo (Bladensburg, MD/El Salvador) caused the Frederick defense to take him out and earn a penalty kick that Evan Doten (Costa Rica/River Hill) calmly slotted into the bottom corner of the net. Didier Estrada (Hyattsville, MD/Northwestern) doubled the Dragons lead before the 10 minute mark as Portillo set him up beautifully.

Frederick was able to pull a goal back, but Doten took a long curling shot that found the netting again. Portillo added to the lead in the 30th minute as a long kick by Jamoy Myers (Jamaica/Sunfire (FL)) was misplayed by the Cougars goalkeeper and fell to Portillo who would not miss the golden opportunity. The Cougars again were able to stay in the game with a goal late in the first half to make it a 4-2 Howard advantage at halftime.

The second half could not have started any better for Howard as a Portillo corner kick was headed down by Baraka Kagira-Kargbo (Kenya/Moorland (England)) and slammed home from close range by Brayan Navas (Silver Spring, MD/Wheaton) for his first goal of the year. Kargbo would go on to set up Brandon Ruano (Columbia, MD/Laurel) 10 minutes later after the Cougars went down to 10 men on a straight red card in the 60th minute.

Trevor Kerr (Laurel, MD/Reservoir) was able to dribble through the entire Frederick team to score in the 64th minute. It took just a minute later for Kyle Eylanbekov (Columbia, MD/Wilde Lake) to slice down the right side and slide the ball over to Ruano for a tap in goal to really take the wind out of the sails of the visitors.

The Dragons will get a couple days to rest before traveling to Hagerstown on Tuesday, September 28 for a 4 PM game.