Owls Upended 2-1 By Howard In Physical Matchup

The Owls freshman forward Chukuwma Maduwuba (Upper Marlboro, MD) scored in his second straight game as a starter for Prince George's, but the visiting Dragons of Howard Community College were able to use their two first half goals to deal the Owls a 2-1 defeat at home on Tuesday, September 12^th.

Coming off their first victory of the season, a 3-2 victory over NOVA four days prior, Prince George's came out flat in the opening half. Howard managed to fire off 12 shots in the first 45 minutes compared to 5 for the Owls. The Dragons scored first in the 31^st minute on a near-post shot that snuck past Owls goalkeeper Bilal Odeh and put Howard in front, 1-0. Prince George's showed energy to retaliate with a goal of their own, creating four shots and taking one corner kick over the next several minutes before Howard flipped possession and scored following a corner kick of their own which resulted in a 2-0 deficit for the Owls.

A physical contest already by halftime, Prince George's refused to shy away and was able to find the back of the net when Maduwuba got loose on a breakaway and drove a low shot past Howard's goalie to cut into their lead, 2-1. Anthony Garcia (Fort Washington, MD) assisted on the goal.

Feeling pressure from the Owls, Howard slowed the tempo down and focused on spreading the ball around while maintaining possession. A couple of close saves and defensive holds from Prince George's kept the Owls within striking distance as time wounded down but they were unable to score the tying goal before the clock read zero. Both Francis Ogbankwa (Bowie, MD) and Garcia created shots on goal in the final five minutes, but neither were great looks as Howard's keeper collected both attempts.

The Owls now stand at 1-3-1 on the year and have a full week to regroup before their next game against Hagerstown Community College at home on Tuesday, September 19^th at 5 PM.