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Sophomore Nenad Smiljanic scored the game-winner on a penalty kick just before halftime.
Sophomore Nenad Smiljanic scored the game-winner on a penalty kick just before halftime.
Posted: Sep 04, 2014

Firebirds Shock Reigning PSAC Champion Slippery Rock in Season Opener

Box Score
Scoring Summary
1st - 41:54 - Diakite, Hassirou (Dist. Columbia)
1st - 44:35 - Smiljanic, Nenad (Dist. Columbia)
2nd - 57:38 - Dom Francis (Slippery Rock)
Game Leaders
Dist. Columbia
G: 2 Players (#6, #10) - 1
A: Jimmy Alvarado - 1
Sh: Felix Angerer - 6
Sv: Louis Connor - 4
Slippery Rock
G: Dom Francis - 1
A: N/A
Sh: Dom Francis - 4
Sv: Steven Rerick - 7
Team Stats
Full stats

SLIPPERY ROCK, PA – Sophomore midfielder Nenad Smiljanic's penalty kick goal just 25 seconds before halftime proved to be the game-winner as the University of the District of Columbia men's soccer team shocked the reigning PSAC champion, Slippery Rock, 2-1 on the road in both teams' season opener at Egli Field.

Head coach Matt Thompson improved to 4-0 in season-opening games at UDC, this time defeating his alma mater and school he formerly coached for nine years. Slippery Rock, the defending PSAC champion and No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Region of the NCAA Division II Tournament last year, fell to 0-1 to start the 2014 season under the direction of new head coach Andy Hoggarth.

Smiljanic's (Health Education – Barnsley, England/Barnsley College) game-winner came less than two minutes after fellow sophomore midfielder Hassirou Diakite (Accounting – Trappes, France/Dumont Durville) netted the Firebirds' very first goal of the game and the season. Diakite, who subbed into the game near the 20-minute mark, found the rebound of a saved Jimmy Alvarado shot in front of the goal, and put it in on an empty net for a 1-0 lead. Smiljanic's goal at the 44:35 mark afforded UDC crucial insurance.

The Firebirds would ultimately need that insurance as 2013 All-Atlantic Region performer Dom Francis put The Rock on the board in the 58th minute on a penalty kick goal to make the score, 2-1. While UDC out-shot SRU 12-4 in the first half en-route to its 2-0 advantage, the shots were split evenly, 7-7 in the second half.

Still, UDC junior goalkeeper Louis Connor (Elementary Education – Birmingham, England/Arthur Terry School) only needed to make four saves (two per-half) to preserve the victory thanks to an outstanding collaborative effort by the Firebirds' defensive line: Patrick Borchert, Atunde Akum, Max Coveney, Flavio De Sousa Macedo and Charles Cuffy.

Next up, the Firebirds visit Wilmington University (DE) for another non-league clash on Saturday, September 6th at 1 p.m.