Firebirds Wither in Second Half, Fall 3-1 at Chestnut Hill
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dist. Columbia (0-2-1) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
|
Chestnut Hill (1-2) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
LAFAYETTE HILL, PA – Junior transfer forward Mehdi Badache gave the University of the District of Columbia a 1-0 first half lead on the road at regional foe Chestnut Hill, but the Griffins responded with three unanswered second half goals to defend their home turf with a 3-1 victory Wednesday afternoon.
The Firebirds, who have played three straight in-region opponents from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference to begin the season, fell to 0-2-1 with today's loss. Chestnut Hill, meanwhile, improved to 1-2 on the season and earned its first victory over the Firebirds in four meetings dating back to 2010. The two teams are split, 3-3-2 in the series since 2007.
Badache's (Mechanical Engineering - Tunis, Tunisia/Santa Barbara City College) goal off of an assist from senior Moussa Traore (Journalism - Silver Spring, MD/John F. Kennedy HS) in the 32nd minute was his team-leading 2nd of the season. The Firebirds would out-shoot the Griffins, 13-9 and hold them scoreless through the first half thanks to three saves by senior goalkeeper Louis Connor (Elementary Education – Birmingham, England/Arthur Terry School).
When play resumed, Chestnut Hill fired two more shots – one on net – before finally finding the back of the net on its 3rd shot of the 2nd half just past the 58-minute mark on a nice give-and-go play between Nicholas Jaffe and Jason Burns. A flick pass over a Firebird defender by Burns set up Jaffe for the first Griffins goal of the day to tie the score, 1-1.
Chestnut Hill stayed on the offensive as UDC began to melt down in the late summer heat. The Griffins fired eight more shots in the next 12 minutes before Jason Doherty put CHC in front 2-1 on a goal in the 71st minute.
The Griffins, who outshot UDC 18-3 in the second half (27-16 for the game), tacked on a 3rd goal in the 82nd minute as Doherty scored his second goal of the day on an easy finish after a centering pass by Juan Amaya.
The Firebirds, still seeking their first win of the season, will host their season home opener on Saturday, September 12th vs. California (PA) at 4:30 p.m. The game will be played at Long Bridge Park in Arlington, VA.