Raptors win third in a row

Rockville, MD - On a cool, rainy Saturday night, the Montgomery College Raptors defeated the CCBC-Catonsville Cardinals 6-1. The conference win keeps the Raptors in second place in MDJUCO, trailing leaders CCBC-Essex by three points. 

Sophomore Deric Pocasangre gave the Raptors an early lead, scoring off a diving header from freshman Sota Matsuo's corner kick. The Raptors would continue to press in the first half, taking six additional shots, but struggling to find the target, as five went wide. At the half, it remained 1-0 for the Raptors.

In the second half, the Raptors aim improved. In the 54th minute, freshman David Rojas found the net, finishing a nice pass from freshman Caio Braga. Brian Noutchang scored the third goal fin the 67th minute, pouncing on a rebound from the Cardinal keeper to finish from inside the six yard box. Pocasangre added his second of the game, assisted by freshman defender Ishwarpreet Singh in the 78th minute to make it 4-0. The Raptors best goal of the evening would come in the 82nd minute. Building out of the back and connecting several passes on one touch through the midfield, sophomore Andres Javitt released sophomore Abdoul Anounkou behind the defense. Anounkou collected and finished to the far post to make the game 5-0. 

In the 87th minute, the Cardinals would claw one back but the Raptors ended on a high note with Anounkou getting his second of the game of another assist from Matsuo. The Raptors would walk away with the 6-1 win. 

Up next for the Raptors is NJCAA Region XX rival Harford Community College. The teams will meet on October 6th at 7:00 PM at the MC Soccer Stadium on the Rockville campus. 

Raptor Bites: 

• Sota Matsuo's two assists give him 10 for the season, tying him for 4th nationally.
• Abdoul Anounkou's two goals overtake Andres Javitt and put him first in the nation with goals scored with 16. Javitt has 15.
• Deric Pocasangre's two goals give him twelve for the season, tying him for 5th nationally.