Columbia, MD - The Howard Community College men's soccer team pulled off one of the most remarkable comebacks in program history Saturday afternoon, rallying from a 3–0 halftime deficit to defeat Cecil College 5–3 in the NJCAA Region 20 Division II quarterfinals to keep their postseason push alive!

Things looked bleak for the Dragons early as Cecil struck three times in the opening 40 minutes, capitalizing on defensive miscues and counterattack opportunities. Down 3–0 at the break, Howard faced the prospect of its best season in years ending on home turf. Coming into this game with a record of 13-1-1, being 12-0 in conference play, and being nationally ranked in MDJUCO multiple times throughout the season, the Dragons would face more adversity than ever before to keep their year alive.

Right on cue, the second half became a completely different story. Sophomore forward Donnie Frayer (Odenton, MD/Annapolis Area Christian) ignited the rally just three minutes into the second half. In the 48th minute a precise and high strike from Frayer made it 3–1. Just two minutes later, freshman forward Denny Mora (Hyattsville, MD/Northwestern) shot one through, assisted by Kiar Sani (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia/St. Ragueal Church). The scores just kept pouring on for the Dragons, as just seven minutes after the second goal, Predrag Ilic (Nis, Serbia/Gymnasium Stevan Sremac) tied it up 3-3. The freshman midfielder from Serbia had his penalty kick blocked but quickly followed the ball and booted it into the back of the net. Suddenly the dynamic of the game shifted. The Dragon's confidence was at an all-time high, and Howard was on the attack the rest of the match.

Howard's relentless pressure continued, and in the 66th minute, freshman midfielder Kiar Sani (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia/St. Ragueal Church) received a nice pass from Yeabsira Tesfaye (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia/St. Ragueal Church) deep in Seahawks territory and struck it home, giving Howard their first lead of the match at 4–3.

The Dragons weren't done. In the 81st minute, Denny Mora (Hyattsville, MD/Northwestern) capped off an insane comeback and threaded a perfect goal through the Seahawks's backline, picking up his 11th goal of the season. Mora led all Dragons in goals, and Tesfaye picked up his second assist of the day at another crucial moment to make the score 5-3. Cecil attempted to push forward desperately in the final minutes, but Howard's defense held firm.

With the victory, Howard improves to 14–1–1 (conference record 13-0).The Dragons will look to carry their momentum into the NJCAA Region 20 semifinals match on October 30th, against Anne Arundel Community College at 12:00 PM.