Columbia, MD – Fousseiny Diallo (Mali/AISB) and
Boubacar Sissoko (Beltsville, MD/High Point) scored in a hotly contested matchup, but the Dragons ultimately fell to the Montgomery Raptors by the score of 5-2.
A hard tackle in the box by the Dragons led to a penalty kick for the Raptors early on in the first half. At a little under 3 minutes, Carl Romberg faced off with Howard goalkeeper
Jesse Sanchez (Laurel, MD/Laurel), going for the bottom left corner to score the first goal for the Raptors. Not long after, Romberg scored again as he initially looked for the extra pass but instead went for the shot to put the Raptors up 2-0 over the Dragons at halftime.
The Dragons struggled on offense against the Raptors in the first half, but came back roaring and ready to play with freshman forward
Bliden Elung () making his college debut for the Dragons. Elung was able to chase down a flick on header by Diallo on a fast break shot attempt that was saved by Raptors goalie Thomas Mauro.
Truce Norton (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills) collected the rebound and had two more shot attempts that were both saved Mauro once again.
With a little over 30 minutes left to play in the second half, the Dragons earned a free kick in the offensive half of the field. Coming fresh off the bench,
Jason Fuentes (Columbia, MD/Hammond) chipped the free kick into the box as Diallo headed the ball into the net for Howard's first goal of the game and his second of the season.
At 19 minutes left in the game, the Raptors Yoshuke Ono found Romberg who moved the ball forward and into the box, dancing through the Dragons defense to score his third of the game.
Down by two goals once again, the Dragons were able to score at the 12 minute mark in the second half, with a shot made by Sissoko from close range as Norton provided the assist to put the Dragons within striking distance down 3-2.
Continuing to press forward, Fuentes was back at the line again after a foul on the Raptors looking to score a tying goal from an identical spot to the first goal. His shot attempt was miraculously cleared off the line by Raptors defender Jason Guevera as Fuentes second chance saw his shot go over the cross bar.
With three minutes left to play in the second half, the Raptors solidified their win over the Dragons with two more goals made by Addis Tafese and Carl Romberg, with both goals assisted by Nathan Booth.
The Dragons fell to a 2-3 record as they look to rebound at Prince George's on Tuesday, September 12 at 5 PM.
