Columbia, MD – Olivia Jackson (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) and a strong Howard defensive line did everything they could, but ultimately fell to the College of Southern Maryland Hawks 1-0. The loss drops the Dragons to 2-3-1 on the season and 0-1-1 in regional play.
 
Olivia Jackson (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) was called into action early in the game as a fast break by the Hawks saw Jackson make a diving save to keep the ball out of her net. The Dragons recovered and picked up their best opportunity of the first half as a great give and go with Melissa Villatoro (Riverdale, MD/Parkdale) saw Yoselin Ortiz Cruz (Alexandria, VA/Alexandria City) power a shot off the cross bar.
 
Southern Maryland earned a penalty kick in the first minute of the second half, but the looming presence of Jackson caused the shot by Megan Hinton to go wide of the net to keep the game scoreless. Hinton was able to get redemption in the 58^th minute as the Hawks earned a second penalty kick that Hinton scored into the bottom right corner of the net.
 
Hinton nearly made a second goal in the 66^th minute, but an incredible save by Jackson kept the ball out of her net to keep the Dragons chances alive. Despite a number of good chances involving free kick shots by Giselle Castillo (Falls Church, VA/Justice) and strong runs from Kimberly Ruano (Laurel, MD/Laurel), the Dragons couldn't find the breakthrough as they fell 1-0.
 
The Dragons will have little time to rest as they host another regional rival in Frederick on Thursday, September 28 at 4 PM. The Dragons tied the Cougars 2-2 in the regular season back in 2022, but Howard won the playoff rematch in a 6-0 victory in the Region 20 tournament quarterfinals.