Firebirds Fall, 4-3 in Overtime Heartbreaker vs. Roberts Wesleyan

ARLINGTON, VA – The University of the District of Columbia men's soccer team suffered a heartbreaking, 4-3 overtime defeat in its East Coast Conference season opener vs. Roberts Wesleyan on Sunday afternoon at Long Bridge Park.

Senior four-year veteran midfielder Elio Hernandez (Health Education – Germantown, MD/Northwest HS), who also played a terrific game defensively, scored what figured to be the gamewinner on a free kick from 25 yards out in the 77^th minute – the Firebirds' 3^rd straight and go-ahead goal after falling behind 2-0 in the first half. But with 1:23 remaining in regulation, Redhawk sophomore midfielder John Stewart headed in a cross played in the box by Logan Wood to force a 3-3 tie and ultimately an overtime session. Then, just 1:18 into the extra session, Wood fired a shot from inside the box that was partially deflected by UDC defender Nelson Moreno, but a fortuitous trajectory allowed it to sail over the head of UDC's 6'0 senior goalkeeper Louis Connor for the gamewinner.

The Firebirds controlled possession for much of the first half, but two defensive slipups allowed Roberts Wesleyan to race out to a 2-0 lead with goals in the 20^th and 24^th minutes. Freshman Kevin Ortez (Administration of Justice – Alexandria, VA/TC Williams) responded for UDC scoring his team-leading 3^rd goal of the season on a quality strike in the box of a cross from the right side by sophomore transfer forward Maurice Schwab (Special Education – Vornholz Weg, Germany/Bielefeld University) in the 36^th minute. Less than a minute later, junior transfer defender Victor Salinas Furio (Architecture – Valencia, Spain/University Polytechnic of Valencia) added the equalizer after a Hernandez corner kick and a touch by freshman Kevin Claure Guzman (Biology – Alexandria, VA/Jeb Stuart HS). The Firebirds out-shot Roberts Wesleyan 10-2 in the first half but had to settle for a 2-2 tie.

Connor, who entered the week ranked 3^rd in Division II for total saves, made three stops today in the loss. John Ciavaglia stopped five shots as he helped the Redhawks improve to 2-2-1 on the season and 1-0 in league play. Both teams had a few shots clang off of the crossbar as well.

UDC (1-4-1, 0-1 ECC) is back in action on Wednesday afternoon taking on the No. 18 ranked team in Division II, LIU Post. Kickoff is at 2:00 PM from Maryland Soccerplex.