Bel Air, MD – Harford women's soccer came out the gate with a high intensity offense this evening, defeating the Lady Dragons 4-0.
A bit of a slow start for the Dragons as the Fighting Owls kept the game at a pace that allowed them to keep the ball in their possession for majority of the first half. Harford took 17 shots alone in the first half, along with with 10 shots on goal, compared to the Dragons with 1 shot and 1 shot on goal. The Dragons did their best to stay defensively sound under pressure with a total of 7 saves compared to Harford's 1. Howard Goalie Olivia Jackson (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) had an astounding six out of the seven saves before the completion of the first half.
As the first half begun to wind down the fighting Owls offense turned things up a bit more, scoring their first goal at the 29th minute of the game. A corner kick for Harford found its way to the far-right side of Howard's goal-area to Skye Dixon, who spotted teammate Ashley McElwain open for a low shot to the left corner, making the score 1-0. Keeping their foot on the gas, Harford scored their second and third goal not long after at the 32nd minute mark, and the 34th minute mark. The Dragons did their best to hold things down on defense to keep the Fighting owls at 3 for the remainder of the first half.
Howard searched for a much-needed push going into the second half, but Harford seemed to push back after Peyton Long finds an open shot to the lower left side of the Dragons goal post making the score 4-0 at the 63rd minute mark. Harford continues to stay solid on offense for the remainder of the second half, keeping the ball on the Howard half as time runs out. Dragons goalie, Olivia Jackson (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) makes a great save with 30 seconds left on the clock tipping a high ball over the post that keeps the Harford owls at a total of 4 goals for the match, with a final score of 4-0.
Olivia Jackson (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) surpasses her season high of 8 saves in a single match, which she earned previously against Montgomery college, making a total of 15 saves against Harford. Melissa Villatoro (Riverdale, MD/Parkdale) had two shots on goal for the Dragons.
Howard will return home to host a matchup against CCBC Essex Knights on Tuesday, September 19. Kick off is set to start at 2 PM.
