Men’s Soccer Holds Off Wildcats for 2-1 Road Victory

NEWARK, DE – With field temperatures over 100 degrees, the Firebirds managed to beat the heat and their opponent, Wilmington University in a wild, 2-1 thriller which nearly needed overtime.

A potential game-tying Wildcat goal with just one second remaining in regulation was called off by the officials as a result of a foul committed against UDC's goalkeeper, Louis Connor. This marked UDC's second consecutive victory to start the season while Wilmington fell to 0-1 to start the 2014 season.

Both teams struck in the opening minutes of game action, with Josh Fawsset finishing off a 3-on-3 break that started from midfield less than three minutes in to give Wilmington a quick, 1-0 lead. But right back came UDC just past the five minute mark as sophomore forward Felix Angerer (Business Administration – Bayreuth, Germany/Graj Minster Gimnasium Bayreuth) headed in a cross from sophomore defender Charles Cuffy (Business Administration – Woodbridge, VA/Longwood University) to force a 1-1 tie. Neither team would score for the remainder of the first half.

While Wilmington had an 11-3 shot advantage in the second half, it was UDC which had the better scoring opportunities for the most part. After hitting the post on a free-kick early in the second half, UDC sophomore defender Patrick Borchert (Business Management – Hagen, Germany/Fern Universitat Hagen) took another free kick from about 40 yards out which hit off of a Wilmington defender and went into the net for what ultimately proved to be the game-winner.

UDC also very nearly made it 3-1 with 10 minutes remaining in regulation, but freshman midfielder Jim Alvarado (Biology - Leesburg, VA/Loudon County HS) narrowly missed a 1-vs.-1.

Junior goalkeeper Louis Connor (Elementary Education – Birmingham, England/Arthur Terry School) was sensational in net for UDC, making four crucial stops (six total in the game), including a penalty kick save to preserve the victory. The 20-8 shot differential favoring the Wildcats was a bit deceiving, however, as the Firebirds dropped back in defense once it had a 2-1 lead, and many of Wilmington's shots were well off the mark or simply blocked by a defender before even reaching the goal.

Next up, the Firebirds look to improve to 3-0 in their third road game to start the season vs. California (PA) on Wednesday, September 10^th at 3 p.m.