(Columbia, MD) NCC Women's Soccer traveled to compete in the Howard Community College Dragons Invitational last weekend. With 4 other teams present the Lions knew they were up against a tough crowd, but were certainly ready for the challenge.

The first opponent in the Lions path on Saturday was Howard Community College themselves. It was a hot one, with the temperature reaching around 85 during their game. Howard came out blazing, and scored within the first half. The Lions tightened up their defense, and kept the Dragons to only one more goal during the first half, leaving the score 2-0 at halftime.

Being down 2-0, the Lions knew they needed to step up their game, and get a few more shots on goal. Kayla Murphy was determined, and did just that enough times to find the back of the net. And just like that the Lions were on the board 2-1.

There was a lot of back and forth on both teams. Diana Lemus found the second goal for Lions, and helped tie everything up. However, Howard came back and scored again making the score 2-3.

Maya Jones took control by putting the pressure on their defense. She squeaked in a goal with only 15 minutes remaining in the half - tieing up the game! Unfortunately, the Dragons were able to find a weak spot in the Lions defense, and capture another score. Although the women played their hearts out until the very end, there just wasn't enough time for NCC to catch up. The final score was 3 NCC, 4 Howard CC.

The Lions got up on Sunday, and despite the loss on the previous day, they took on Anne Arundel Community College with gusto.

Unlike the previous day, it was cloudy and a bit cooler temperature wise. That wasn't the only thing getting switched up - Maya Jones took to the goalie box for the first time this season. 

Both teams came out strong and NCC had a few good opportunities to score early on. Diana Lemus beat a defender to the punch, and tallied a goal for the Lions half way through the first half!

NCC lead 1-0 for the rest of the first half, and into the beginning of the second. But Anne Arundel had other plans. The Eagles scored with 13 minutes left in the match. Nassau responded with another goal off of a corner kick by Karla Panamerno.

Anne Arundel wasn't letting up however, they were going to fight until the end. Arundel got another goal to tie everything up, and lead them into overtime!

The Lions played hard in OT. Unfortunately, a Anne Arundel goal squeaked past them, and NCC didn't have enough time to recover. The final score was 4 Anne Arundel - 3 NCC. 

"Two tough losses this week. Obviously we were very close to converting those losses into wins, but it just wasn't for us today. I am really excited for our next few games, as I feel that we have finally hit our stride, and can compete at this level" commented Head Coach Chris Megaloudis after the Invitational.

Want more? Be sure to check out Lions Women's Soccer on Tuesday, September 17th for a home match against Monroe College.