Columbia, MD - The Howard Community College Dragons dominated in their season opener on Tuesday afternoon, defeating the College of Southern Maryland Hawks 4-0.

From the opening whistle, it was clear the Dragons had the advantage over their rivals. Howard started the scoring early with a penalty kick from sophomore captain Bryan Barrientos (Catonsville, MD/Catonsville) in just the fourth minute.

The Dragons struck again in the 14th minute, as sophomore Donnie Frayer (Odenton, MD/Annapolis Area Christian) extended the lead to 2-0 off a pretty assist from freshman Denny Mora (Hyattsville, MD/Northwestern). Howard's defense clamped down to hold the lead at 2-0 entering the half.

In the second half, the Dragons did not ease up on the gas. Southern Maryland came out of the break desperate to claw their way back into the match, but Howard's defensive back held firm. Yeabsira Tesfaye (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia/St. Ragueal Church) added a third goal on a penalty kick to make it 3-0, and Rafa Benitez (Hyattsville, MD/Eleanor Roosevelt) put the icing on the cake with a fourth goal in the 77th minute to close out the victory. The second half saw chippy play between the two teams, with four total yellow cards and three Southern Maryland ejections.

Howard's defense held the Hawks to just six shots on goal, compared to 16 total shots on goal by the Dragons. Goalkeeper Jonathan Sanchez (Ellicott City, MD/Mount Hebron) stood out with four saves in his college debut, while amazing freshman Nicholas Mirecki (Glenelg, MD/Glenelg) and Alan Gutierrez (Laurel, MD/Reservoir) played excellently in the back. 12 different Dragons recorded at least one shot, with nine Dragons recording a shot on goal and four Dragons recording a goal. Barrientos and Mora each had four shots and three shots on goal, while Tesfaye, Benitez, and freshman Julius Marks (Punta Arenas, Costa Rica/Las Nubes School) recording two shots on goal each.

With a convincing opening day victory in the bag, the Dragons are looking to earn another home win this Friday, August 29 at 2:00 PM as they face last year's Region 20 runner-up in Frederick!