Firebirds Light Up Scoreboard in 3-0 Victory vs. Daemen

WASHINGTON, DC – The Firebirds raced out to a 2-0 lead at halftime and cruised to a 3-0 East Coast Conference victory over Daemen on a beautiful fall Saturday afternoon on the campus of Sidwell Friends School.

With the win, UDC snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 8-6-1 overall and 4-4 in league play. Also, the Firebirds surpassed last season's win total of seven while staying alive in the four-team ECC Tournament hunt. Daemen lost its third straight to fall to 5-8 overall and 2-6 in the ECC.

Sophomore Ever Guevera Alvarez (Electrical Engineering – Woodbridge, VA/Woodbridge Senior HS) made his first career start in goal for the injured Louis Connor, and earned a complete game shutout victory with six saves. Meanwhile, junior Elio Hernandez (Elementary Education – Germantown, MD/Northwest HS), freshman Liam Haycock (Nutrition – Stafford, England/Codsall Community HS) and sophomore Nenad Smiljanic (Health Education – Barnsley, England/Barnsley College) each scored a goal to help the Firebirds secure the victory.

The Firebirds defensive line held Daemen without a shot for the first 35 minutes of regulation while UDC took 11 shots in that span. UDC broke through for the game's first goal in the 23^rd minute when Hernandez finished a cross from sophomore forward Felix Angerer (Business Administration – Bayreuth, Germany/Graj Minster Gymnasium Bayreuth) for his 4^th goal of the season and Angerer's team-leading 5^th assist. A little over 10 minutes later, Haycock scored his first career goal, finishing a cross from fellow freshman Max Coveney to make it 2-0, UDC.

UDC played defensive in the second half, surrendering nine Wildcats shots in the second half, but only three on goal. The Firebirds took seven total shots in the second half – two on goal – and managed to score another insurance goal in the 78^th minute as Smiljanic followed his own shot and blasted in the rebound from inside the box for his 6^th goal of the year.

Next up, UDC hosts ECC foe Molloy on Wednesday, October 29^th at 3 p.m. at Long Bridge Park in Arlington, VA. The Firebirds must win to stay alive in the four-team ECC Tournament hunt.