Columbia, MD - The #3 ranked Howard Community College Dragons used a balanced offensive attack and a dominant early stretch to pull away for a 16-10 victory over the #5 ranked CCBC Essex on Thursday at the Dragon Turf Field. The Dragons improved to 8-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play with the win in the regular season finale.

Howard fell behind early after CCBC Essex scored the game's first goal, but the Dragons quickly responded. John Stubbs tied the score midway through the opening quarter off an assist from Quinn Brennan, sparking a 6-1 run that gave Howard control. William Pesce scored twice in the first quarter, while Logan Foust and Lukas Rozon each added goals as the Dragons carried a 6-2 lead into the second period.

The Dragons continued to build the advantage in the second quarter. Evan Tubb opened the scoring off a feed from Rozon with the long pole, and Joseph Wolfe later added an unassisted tally for another goal from a defensive player. Rozon scored with 19 seconds left before halftime to send Howard into the break with a 9-4 cushion.

Howard put the game further out of reach in the third quarter, outscoring the Knights 4-0. Pesce scored off another assist from Rozon, who then found the net twice himself before setting up Kobe Brown for another goal to make it 13-4 entering the fourth.

CCBC Essex mounted a late rally with six fourth-quarter goals, including a pair of man-up tallies, but Howard answered each push. Vinnie Volpe scored early in the quarter, Pesce added a man-down goal with 6:57 remaining, and Rozon capped his standout day with another man-down strike late in the contest.

Rozon led the Dragons with six goals and three assists, totaling nine points. Pesce added four goals and one assist, while Foust finished with one goal and two assists. Stubbs and Tubb each had a goal and an assist, and Bobby Pupich contributed two assists.

Lewis Collora played the full game in goal for Howard and made 12 saves. The Dragons also held advantages in shots (44-36), ground balls (32-29), and clears (10-for-11).

With the regular season over, the Dragons will head to the Region 20 tournament as the #2 seed. That will set up a rematch with the #3 seeded CCBC Essex Knights on Friday, April 24 at tournament host CCBC Essex.