Upset-Minded Firebirds Suffer Lopsided Loss vs. No. 4 Dowling

WASHINGTON, DC – A week after shocking the entire East Coast Conference with an 8-7 upset victory on the road at Mercy, the first-year University of the District of Columbia men's lacrosse team could not pull off the same feat against the No. 4 ranked team in the country, Dowling, as the Firebirds fell by a final of 21-8 on a hot Sunday afternoon in the nation's capital.

Sophomore defender Luke Gillespie (Business Management – Maple Ridge, BC/Pfeiffer University) led the Firebirds offensively with a season-high four goals while also scooping up four ground balls. He is now tied for 2^nd on the team with 13 goals this season. Freshman attack Chase Fraser (Elementary Education – Aldergrove, BC/Blue Ridge School) also added two goals on a game-high 13 shots. He leads the team with 25 goals this season.

Defensively, juniors Kamaal Stanley (Business Management – Saratoga Springs, NY/SUNY Delhi) and Michael King each had a caused turnover while King also led the team with five ground balls. Junior goalkeeper Tom Yancheski (Sociology – Phoenix, MD/Harford CC) took the loss in goal as he made 13 saves and allowed 16 goals in 41:26 of work. Sophomore Pat Payne (Environmental Science – Catonsville, MD/CCBC Catonsville) came on for 18:34 of relief, making two saves and allowing five goals.

The Golden Lions, who entered the game as hot as the near 85-degree temperature felt at Georgetown Multi-Sport Field, have now won six of their last seven games, including their last five straight. They feature the league's 2^nd and 5^th leading scorers in the conference in attacks Kevin McElhone and Matt Crough, and each of these two scored four goals this afternoon. Reserves Brian White and Billy Richardson also added four goals apiece while five different Dowling players tallied one goal each.

Dowling goalkeeper Frank Sommers played the entire game and made eight saves while allowing eight goals in the victory. Also, midfielder Michael Fitzpatrick won 18-of-23 face-offs and had a game-high 10 ground balls.

With Fitzpatrick dominating the face-offs, Dowling won 22-of-33 face-offs collectively as a team which led to a 55-35 shot advantage. The Firebirds were 20-of-22 on clear attempts; however, they had six more turnovers than Dowling (16-10).

The Golden Lions raced out to a 6-0 lead with a little over eight minutes gone by in the first period thanks in part to a pair of goals by Crough. Fraser put the Firebirds on the board just past the five-minute mark with an unassisted goal, but Dowling extended its lead to 8-1 with the final two goals of the period.

Gillespie ripped a shot past Sommers at the 12:32 mark of the 2^nd period to make it 8-2, finishing off a nice feed from junior midfielder Stevens Cadet (Business Management – Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial). But Brian White scored back-to-back goals at 11:15 and 9:43, and Fitzpatrick and McElhone each added a goal as well in a 4-0 run by the Golden Lions to extend the lead to 12-2. Gillespie would add his second goal of the period at the 7:30 mark, but Dowling closed out the half on a 3-0 run and took a commanding, 15-3 lead at the break.

Dowling went on to out-score UDC 6-5 in the 3^rd and 4^th periods and cruised to a 21-8 victory.

The Firebirds will visit non-conference foe Chestnut Hill on Saturday, April 19^th at 1 p.m.