Khari Sharrieff and his Howard University team-mates got off the mark for the season with a pair of goals, but were ultimately outgunned 4-2 by the Manhattan Jaspers in Riverdale, New York.
The Bison endured a nightmare start on the road, shell-shocked by a relentless Manhattan attack that struck twice inside the opening seven minutes to build an early 2-0 cushion.
Howard slowly gathered composure and halved the deficit in the 21st minute, capitalising on a costly defensive mix-up from the Jaspers to make it 2-1.
Manhattan reasserted control soon after the restart. Cristiano Marsilii bagged his second goal of the contest at the 41-minute mark to restore the hosts' two-goal buffer at 3-1.
The visitors refused to lie down, however. Junior forward Daniil Kaban—an All-NEC selection from Kharkiv, Ukraine—stepped up to calmly slot home a penalty moments later, setting up a frantic finish at 3-2.
Yet any hopes of a dramatic Bison comeback were extinguished in the closing stages, as Manhattan turned up the pressure and found a decisive fourth goal to put the result beyond doubt.
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