COLUMBIA, Md. - The Harford men's soccer team rode a three goal second half to come from behind to defeat the Howard CC Dragons 3-1. The win improves their overall record to 2-3 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.
 
Despite a first half that was mostly dominated by the Fighting Owls, it was the Dragons who drew first blood when a cross from Colin Serio snuck past goalkeeper Tanner Peterson and ricocheted off the far post and into the net.
 
Jerry Washington was a monster in the first half as he cut through the Dragons defense regularly but couldn't find the net on a few glorious chances. In the 23^rd minute, Washington ran past the Dragons defense and circled the keeper only to see his shot at an empty net go wide. Three minutes later, Washington took a shot from the middle of the box that struck the post and teammate Ayoub Fouadi collected the rebound but had his shot saved.
 
In the 2^nd half, the Fighting Owls finally got their breakthrough thanks to a strange play starting from a corner kick. After the initial corner was cleared out, a second opportunity to cross it in the box found Jake Ross at the top of the box. Ross was able to volley it off the far post and the rebound came to Daniel Milad who smashed in from point blank to tie the game at 1-1.
 
For the next 20 minutes, the Fighting Owls continued to pepper the Dragons goal. Eventually the Fighting Owls earned a well-deserved goal started by a cannon by Fouadi that struck the post off a free kick. This time the rebound came back to Washington who skillfully volleyed the ball into the net to take the lead with just under 20 minutes left to play.
 
With four and a half minutes left in the game, it was once again Washington who showed off his incredible ability. A long clear allowed Washington a breakaway and he was able to dance around two defenders and the goalkeeper as he calmly tapped the ball into an open net for the all-important insurance goal. The Fighting Owls put on two more excellent close-range shots in the last few seconds of the game, but ultimately it did not matter as Harford came away with a big conference win.
 
The Fighting Owls will next take on another conference foe as they travel to Anne Arundel on Tuesday September 13^th for a 7 p.m. match.