Columbia, MD - A back and forth contest of evenly matched opponents resulted in a late game winning goal for the Raptors in a 3-2 loss for the Dragons.

Montgomery got on the board first as Berenice Bahloul-Machado was able to jump on a corner kick that sat too long in the Dragons' goal box in the ninth minute. Howard answered back just a minute later as Kimberly Ruano (Laurel, MD/Laurel) struck a long shot over the head of the Raptor goalkeeper to tie the game.

The Raptors scored a second 10 minutes later as Isabelle Watson was played in on a great through ball to regain the lead. But once again the Dragons responded quickly as Yoselin Ortiz Cruz (Alexandria, VA/Alexandria City) was fouled in the Montgomery goal box. Mireida Castillo (Falls Church, VA/Falls Church) placed the ball on the penalty spot and hammered a shot into the top left corner to tie the game at 2-2.

A midfield battle ensued for much of the next 50 minutes as the two squads suffered through the heat. The Dragons were hard pressed to get chances in the second half as the Raptors capitalized in the 84th minute to score what would become the game winning goal. 

Howard will next hit the road against another tough opponent in Harford on Friday, September 15 at 4 PM.