Columbia, MD - The Howard Community College women's soccer team used a strong offensive performance to defeat Garrett College, 7-2, Wednesday afternoon at Howard Community College. With the game being rescheduled from September 1 that was supposed to be at Garrett, the Dragons took advantage of the added home game thanks to excellent performances from numerous players.
Garrett struck first in the fourth minute when Abigayle Mitchell scored off an assist from Rosabel Cardy. Howard responded quickly, with
Gabriela Rodriguez finding the back of the net in the fifth minute to even the match at 1-1 on a free kick from 40 yards out.
The Dragons then took control with three goals in a span of less than eight minutes.
Melody Scott scored twice from close range, first in the 25th minute off assists from
Maeve Daly and Rodriguez before adding another goal just over a minute later on an assist just from Rodriguez.
Garrett answered with a goal from Ava Hunt in the 30th minute, cutting Howard's lead to 3-2, but the Dragons responded with three more goals before halftime. Rodriguez scored again in the 33rd minute as she made a great individual effort to slice through the Garrett defense. Daly scored one more for the Dragons in the 43rd minute, giving Howard a 5-2 advantage heading into halftime.
Howard continued its offensive pressure after the break starting Rodriguez completing her hat trick in the 49th minute as she and Daly worked passes back and forth to each other in a beautiful display of technical skill.
Caly Smithson capped the scoring in the 65th minute with a long free kick that bounced over the Garrett goalkeeper, her second game in a row with a goal of that nature, giving the Dragons a 7-2 victory.
Rodriguez led Howard with three goals and three assists on 10 shots, including six shots on goal. Howard outshot Garrett 21-14 and placed 13 shots on goal compared with 10 for the Lakers.
Sophia Newman made eight saves in goal for the Dragons. With the victory, Howard improved to 2-1-0 overall and 2-1-0 in conference play, while Garrett fell to 0-1-0.
The Dragons will return to action Tuesday, September 8, when they host CCBC Catonsville at 4:30 PM at Howard Community College.
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