Firebirds Fall at Dowling, 3-1

BROOKHAVEN, NY – The University of the District of Columbia men's soccer team was defeated by East Coast Conference foe Dowling, 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Bakary Coulibaly (Electrical Engineering – Bamako, Mali/La Lumiere HS) scored the Firebirds' lone goal in the second half, but UDC was out-shot 19-5 for the afternoon and played the majority of the second half down two players due to red cards. UDC fell to 6-4 overall and 1-3 in league play with the loss while the Golden Lions improved to 5-2-1 (3-1-1 ECC).

Dowling scored its first goal just 13 seconds before intermission and added a second goal just two minutes after play resumed.

The Firebirds pulled within a goal in the 62^nd minute when freshman Sam Rowden (Psychology – Lincoln, England/Saint Peter Saint Paul Catholic Secondary School) sent a cross into the box for Coulibaly, who fired a shot past Dowling goalkeeper Chris Friedl. The goal was Coulibaly's team-leading fifth goal of the season.

UDC could not manage another goal the rest of the way though as Dowling's Mike Gronenthal added an insurance goal in the 83^rd minute to make it 3-1.

Sophomore goalkeeper Louis Connor made six saves and allowed three goals in 90 minutes of work. Dowling's Friedl made two saves and allowed just one goal in a complete game win.

UDC will look to bounce back on Thursday, October 10^th when the Firebirds visit the No. 4 ranked team in the region, Wilmington University. Kick-off is at 3:30 p.m.