Catonsville, MD - In a tight, defensive contest, the Howard Community College Dragons stayed undefeated in Region 20 play as they defeated rival CCBC Catonsville 3-0.

Despite being shutout in the first half by a Region 20 opponent for the first time this season, the Dragons rallied in the second half to put the Cardinals away. Howard dominated time of possession and out-shot the Cardinals 24-6. The win keeps Howard atop the Region 20 leaderboard and ensures that Howard will be heading to the postseason once again!

Thursday nights game was a gritty battle, with both teams receiving a pair of yellow cards. Howard controlled the pace in the first half, but was unable to find the back of the net thanks to stout goalkeeping from Catonsville's Atendem Fuamazah. Howard's Jonathan Sanchez (Ellicott City, MD/Mount Hebron) kept the contest a 0-0 tie with several amazing saves down the stretch.

The Dragons finally got the ball rolling offensively in the second half. A yellow card on Fuamazah for a big collision with Donnie Frayer (Odenton, MD/Annapolis Area Christian) gave the Dragons a penalty kick opportunity, which Predrag Ilic (Nis, Serbia/Gymnasium Stevan Sremac) buried for the 1-0 lead. In the 77th minute, after staving off a tough Cardinals attack, Alfonso Argueta (Columbia, MD/Wilde Lake) smashed in his first career goal off a pass from Bryan Barrientos (Catonsville, MD/Catonsville). Yeabsira Tesfaye (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia/St. Ragueal Church) made it 3-0 two minutes later to ice the contest for the Dragons.

Tesfaye led the Dragons in shots with seven, including four on goal. Ilic had three shots with two on goal, while Denny Mora (Hyattsville, MD/Northwestern) added four shots and two on goal. Sanchez made four saves in net to preserve another shutout.

The Dragons continue their tour of Region 20 on Monday with a 4:00 PM match on the road at Cecil College.