Columbia, MD - Yeabsira Tesfaye (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia/St. Ragueal Church) put together a career-defining performance on Thursday, as his three goals sent the Howard Community College Dragons to their second Division II Region 20 title game appearance!

The Dragons shut down the upset-minded Anne Arundel Community College Riverhawks 3-0 to secure a berth in the Region 20 title game on Saturday! It's the first appearance for the Dragons in a Region 20 championship game since 2021, when they lost to the CCBC Essex Knights!

HCC was thrown a loop for Thursday's semi-final, as overnight rains left Dragons Stadium too wet to play on. The game shifted to Dragons Turf Field, where the Dragons spent the first half getting acclimated to the slippery turf. Jonathan Sanchez (Ellicott City, MD/Mount Hebron) locked down the Riverhawks attackers in net to make the job easier for Howard, and Tesfaye scored the opening goal off a corner from Bryan Barrientos (Catonsville, MD/Catonsville).

Leading 1-0 at halftime, the Dragons defense dug in during the second half. Tesfaye scored his second goal of the game off a beautiful crosser from Nicholas Mirecki (Glenelg, MD/Glenelg), then added a third goal when he broke through two defenders to score on a one-on-one. With AACC held scoreless by the Dragons defense, Howard cruised to a 3-0 win.

The Dragons will next face the CCBC Essex Knights in the Region 20 championship game on Saturday, November 1 at 3:00PM!