No. 21 Firebirds Fall to No. 19 Barton, 3-1

ARLINGTON, VA – The No. 21 ranked Firebirds fell behind 2-0 to No. 19 Barton College at halftime and ultimately lost, 3-1 in a battle of two ranked, non-regional opponents Saturday afternoon at Long Bridge Park.

UDC came into the week 2-0 and earned the program's first ever top-25 national ranking but tied California (PA), 3-3 its last time out and suffered its first loss of the season today to fall to 2-1-1 overall. Barton, a member of the Atlantic Region and Conference Carolinas bounced back nicely after a 3-2 loss at Catawba to improve to 3-1 overall.

Alex David had a foot in both Barton's two first half goals, first scoring the game's opening goal on a rebound in front of the net in the 29^th minute, and then sending a cross into the box for a Kevin Strassburger goal in the 33^rd minute. The Bulldogs out-shot UDC 13-5 in the first half. UDC's best scoring chance came just before the eight-minute mark when sophomore midfielder Nenad Smiljanic (Health Education – Barnsley, England/Barnsley College) blasted a shot from 20 yards out off the chest of Barton goalkeeper Jens Madsen Hordvik, and junior forward Moussa Traore (Journalism – Silver Spring, MD/John F. Kennedy HS) tried to toe in the rebound, but Hordvik made a second consecutive diving stop.

Just seven minutes into the second half, the Firebirds pulled within a goal as sophomore forward Felix Angerer (Business Administration – Bayreuth, Germany/Graj Minster Gymnasium Bayreuth) scored his team-leading 3^rd goal of the season off of a fast-break and beautiful feed by freshman midfielder Liam Haycock (Stafford, England/Codsall Community HS).

Less than four minutes later, Pajunk scored for the Bulldogs to add an insurance goal and make it 3-1. Although UDC out-shot BC, 13-5 in the second half to even the total shots for the complete game, Hordvik was up to the task, making five saves in the closing frame to preserve the Barton win.

UDC junior goalkeeper Louis Connor (Elementary Education – Birmingham, England/Arthur Terry School) made eight saves and allowed three goals in the loss.

The Firebirds will look to bounce back as they open East Coast Conference play on Wednesday, September 17^th vs. Queens. The game will once again be played at Long Bridge Field at 4 p.m.