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| Traffic Jam in front of GK Louis Connor (#1) |
Since outscoring their opposition 9-1 in its first two games, the UDC Men's Soccer Team has had four straight games decided by a single goal. The Firebirds lost their second in a row yesterday, 2-1 to ECC rival NYIT at UDC Athletic Field. After jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first 90 seconds, the Firebirds coughed up two goals in the second half, and fell to 4-2 overall, 0-2 in the ECC.
Senior Bakary Coulibaly scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season in the game's second minute, converting a rebound from an Atunde Akum shot rejected by Bears' goalie Liam Waddy (three saves.) Waddy's counterpart, UDC's Louis Connor made three big saves in the first half to preserve a 1-0 halftime lead; and the Firebirds looked to have the upper hand in a battle of top 10 teams in the East Region (NYIT #6, UDC #8.)
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| Freshman Zak Eadle (#4) |
Unfortunately, UDC looked flat (and downright tired) in the second half... perhaps showing signs of fatigue after playing their sixth game in 16 days. It didn't help that the Firebirds were also playing without senior Roque Hernandez, one of the team's top stars. NYIT dominated UDC in the second half, racking up 10-2 and 6-0 advantages in shots and corner kicks. You can't play in your own end for the majority of 45 minutes without something bad happening.
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| Junior Atunde Akum (#5) |
Something bad came with just over five minutes remaining, as NYIT's Ben Wilson scored on a header to the right corner to put the Bears up 2-1. UDC rallied furiously in the closing minutes, but ultimately lost their second straight ECC battle. The Firebirds take a break from conference play when they host Mercyhurst (4-2) tomorrow at 1:00 PM, and Lock Haven (2-2) on Friday before embarking on a three game road trip (beginning with Molloy on October 2nd.)
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| Louis Connor stops another NYIT surge |
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| He can pass too: Bakary Coulibaly (#20) |
Click here for yesterday's box score
