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| Elio Hernandez (#8) makes it 4-0, late in the first half |
The UDC Men's Soccer team erupted for four first-half goals, ending their three-game losing skid in convincing fashion, 4-2 over non-conference opponent Lock Haven (2-4) yesterday. The win improved the Firebirds record to 5-3 (all at home) and gave them a much needed boost as they head out of town for their first road trip of the season.
Bald Eagles goalkeeper Brad Sumski had a disastrous afternoon, coughing up four goals on four shots. Freshman Felix Angerer got the ball rolling, tallying his third goal of the year less than two minutes in, lobbing a 20-yarder into an unattended goal to put UDC up 1-0. 20 minutes later, fellow freshman Hassirou Diakite headed in a shot from Atunde Akum to make it 2-nil. After that, the Firebirds began to pour it on... converting on a pair of free kicks from Patrick Borchert (his first goal of the year) and Elio Hernandez (his third) to put the game out of reach with almost 10 minutes left in the first half.
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| Patrick Borchert (#11) hammers home a free kick to put UDC up 3-0 |
UDC goalie Louis Connor made an incredible save with less than a minute left in the half; but his defenders were nowhere to be found, allowing Lock Haven forward Asher Klahold to slip in the rebound and end the shutout. Connor finished with three saves, before giving way to freshman backup Ever Alvarez, who made three saves of his own in just 30 minutes.
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| Goalkeeper Louis Connor (#1) improves to 5-3 |
Senior midfielder Roque Hernandez returned to the lineup, after missing the past two games due to injury. The UDC attack was demonstrably better with the elder Hernandez providing his usual spark and hustle; and it's clear, that as #7 goes, so goes the Firebird offense.
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| Frosh Hassirou Diakite (#6) scored his first goal 21:43 in |
Oddly enough, Lock Haven outshot UDC by a wide margin 22-12: They even outshot the home team 9-6 in the one-sided first half. R. Hernandez and Akum each earned a yellow card, and the Firebirds committed three more fouls (16-13.) Those stats meant little however, as UDC's efficient "cloud-covered" attack put this game away early. Once the sun started to come out, UDC didn't score again (No conspiracy, just an observation.)
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| Jacob Oldaker (#10) takes one of his seven shots (0 goals) |
The Firebirds look to make it two in a row on Wednesday at Molloy (3-3-1, 2-0-1 ECC.) After two more games on the road (Dowling, Wilmington) UDC returns home to host 18th ranked Mercy (6-0) October 12 on Senior Day.
Click here for yesterday's box score.
