Columbia, MD - In a close, defensive battle, the #19 Howard Community College Dragons narrowly beat out the Division I Montgomery College Raptors 2-0 yesterday afternoon!
The Dragons went toe-to-toe with their rivals, scoring twice in the first half and hanging on for dear life in the second half. Montgomery out-shot the Dragons 21-10, but Howard's defense held on for the victory. The win pushes the Dragons to 11-1 on the season!
The Dragons opened the scoring 12 minutes into the contest, as
Yeabsira Tesfaye (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia/St. Ragueal Church) scored on a beautifully placed free kick set up by a Raptor's yellow card. A second Dragons goal would come from a similar situation, as a Raptors foul in the box set up a
Kiar Sani (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia/St. Ragueal Church) goal to give Howard a 2-0 lead at the half.
The second half would become a defensive struggle, as Howard's offense was unable to get anything going. It fell to the defense to keep the 2-0 advantage, and they would accomplish just that. Behind a stellar performance from goalkeeper
Jonathan Sanchez (Ellicott City, MD/Mount Hebron) and clutch defensive work, the Dragons pulled out the 2-0 victory.
Tesfaye led the Dragons with six shots, three shots on goal, and one goal.
Carlos Contreras (Elkridge, MD/Oakland Mills),
Kevin Rubi (Columbia, MD/Long Reach), and
Denny Mora (Hyattsville, MD/Northwestern) proved to be the only other Dragons able to get a shot off on a difficult offensive day. Sanchez was electric in net, recording five saves and earning his ninth shutout win of the season!
The Dragons next face Prince George's Community College on Thursday, October 9 at 4:00 PM!
