Firebirds Start Slow, Finish Strong in 14-8 ECC Victory at Roberts Wesleyan

ROCHESTER, NY – The University of the District of Columbia men's lacrosse team earned its first East Coast Conference victory of the season in stirring fashion, dominating the second half vs. league rival Roberts Wesleyan en-route to a sound, 14-8 win on Saturday afternoon at RWC Stadium.

The Firebirds (4-6, 1-5 ECC) overcame a 3-0 deficit to start the game, ultimately out-scoring the Redhawks 9-2 in the second half, including a 5-0 differential in the 4^th quarter. With this win, the 3^rd year program bested its win total from each of the previous two years.

Roberts Wesleyan, who lost its sixth straight game, fell to 3-11 overall and 1-6 in league play.

Junior attack Chase Fraser led UDC offensively with a season-high five goals on 12 shots. Freshman attack Edmund Taylor also registered four points on three goals and one assist, and sophomore midfielder Teilen Celentano and freshman attack Braylon Lumb each added a pair of goals as well.

Defensively, graduate goalkeeper Pat Payne stopped 12 of 20 shots faced – his 8^th game this season with over 10 saves. The Firebirds also forced the Redhawks into 22 turnovers, including six caused turnovers. Midfielders Darien McPhail-Millard and Michael King had two caused turnovers apiece. The Firebirds defensive unit also managed to hold RWC to 0-for-6 on man-up opportunities.

The Redhawks, who raced out to a 3-0 lead eight minutes into the start of the game and still led 7-5 in the 3^rd quarter, featured seven different goal scorers. Cody Menzies led the way with three points on two goals and one assist.

UDC out-shot RWC, 36-30 and 23-20 in shots on goal, had seven fewer turnovers (22-15), and won the ground ball battle, 13-7.  The Redhawks won slightly more face-offs (14-of-25) and were a perfect 20-for-20 on clear attempts.

Menzies opened the scoring for the day with a goal off an assist by Seth Miller 40 seconds into the action. Nearly seven minutes later, London Booker added an unassisted goal, followed by another RWC goal by Brady Martin 21 seconds after Booker's.

Fraser finally put the Firebirds on the board with an unassisted goal just past the five minute mark. Celentano then won the ensuing face-off and rushed down the field to score shortly thereafter to make it 3-2. Later, following four minutes of scoreless action, Javier Zuniga ripped a shot past Payne to put RWC up 4-2. Fraser would score again though with just two seconds remaining in the quarter, and once again bring UDC within a goal heading into the 2^nd quarter.

Brady Bermingham struck first in the 2^nd quarter, padding the Redhawks' lead back up to two, 5-3. The Firebirds answered, however, as Lumb scored off an assist by Taylor at 11:09, and sophomore midfielder Syrrus Nash scored unassisted at 8:47 to force the game's first tie. Alex Bianchi would break the tie and put RWC ahead 6-5 to end the third quarter as he scored an unassisted goal in the final minute of the half.

Once again, Roberts Wesleyan was the first team to score in the 3^rd quarter as Zac Sapor tallied early to push the Redhawks' lead back to two, 7-5. At that point, however, UDC manufactured a transformative, 4-0 run behind a goal apiece by Taylor and Brock Thompson-Marshall and back-to-back goals by Fraser. The second of Fraser's back-to-back rips came at 5:42 and gave UDC a 9-7 advantage. The Redhawks were the last to score, however, as Menzies made it 9-8 with a goal at 3:20.

UDC took control of the game in the final quarter. The Firebirds out-shot their hosts 9-5, putting six shots on net and scoring on five of them. The Redhawks managed only three shots on net in the final period, of which, Payne saved all of them. Taylor scored twice for the Firebirds in the 4^th quarter, and Lumb, Fraser and Celentano each added a goal as well.

Next up, the Firebirds will visit ECC foe Chestnut Hill College on Tuesday, April 26^th.