Surging Firebirds Soar Past St. Thomas Aquinas, 4-1 on Senior Day

BOYDS, MD – The University of the District of Columbia men's soccer team won its third straight game as the surging Firebirds soared past St. Thomas Aquinas, 4-1 in East Coast Conference action on a beautiful autumn afternoon at Maryland SoccerPlex.

Five seniors from the UDC roster were honored before the game during the Firebirds' Senior Day ceremony, including Elio Hernandez. The standout four-year veteran midfielder, on the heels of his first career ECC Offensive Player of the Week award, put on a show for his family and hometown crowd of Germantown, MD with an assist on a free kick and a goal on another free kick, both in the first half. Hernandez, who is No. 4 on the school's all-time career assists list, is now the current ECC leader with six assists this season.

The Firebirds (4-6-1, 2-3 ECC) took a 2-1 advantage into halftime and put the game away with two early strikes in the second half, one by another senior, forward Moussa Traore, and another by junior transfer forward Mehdi Badache.

UDC, which avenged last year's 3-2 overtime loss in Sparkill, NY and earned its first program victory over the Spartans in five tries since 2011, out-shot STAC, 15-10 and took eight corner kicks to the Spartans' five. The Firebirds were also the less penalized team with 12 fouls to the STAC's 17.

Senior goalkeeper Louis Connor, a Birmingham, England native playing in front of his parents for the first time in his three-year Firebird career, made five saves and allowed one goal in a complete game victory. Connor entered the game ranked No. 9 in Division II in total saves with 55.

UDC will look to make it four straight wins on Saturday, October 10^th as they take on the defending ECC Champion, NYIT in Old Westbury. Both teams take a three-game win-streak into this ECC showdown which figures to prove pivotal in the league standings. Kickoff is at 3 p.m.