Firebirds Fail to Score Despite Several Chances; Fall to Queens 2-0

BOYDS, MD - The University of the District of Columbia men's soccer team had several quality scoring chances but could never find the back of the net in a 2-0 defeat vs. Queens College in East Coast Conference play Wednesday afternoon at Maryland SoccerPlex.

The Firebirds (3-10-1, 3-3-1 ECC) honored three graduating seniors: Nelson Moreno, Mehdi Badache, and Valere Songong before the game, as this was the home season finale. UDC will finish the season with three straight road games, the first of which is its final non-conference game of the season on Saturday at East Stroudsburg. Queens improved to 5-5-4 overall and 2-2-2 in league play with today's win.

UDC doubled-up the Knights, 6-3 in shots, and put three shots on goal to Queens' 1; however, it was the one shot on goal by the Knights that did the damage, as Emgi Gousse's long run down the field produced a cross in front of the net to an open Nikolas Maher for the gamewinner in the 27^th minute.

The Firebirds had ample chances to force a tie in the second half, particularly near the 58-minute mark when pretty passing by midfielder Kelvin Herrera and forward Kevin Ortez led to back-to-back point-blank shot opportunities just seconds apart for junior forward Liam Haycock, but Queens goalkeeper James Brostowski stepped up to deny Haycock on both attempts.

Later in the 79^th minute, Gousse was slide-tackled by a Firebird defender in the box during a Queens breakaway, and the play drew a red card for UDC's Michael Agboola and a penalty kick. The Knights' Nicholas Matusewicz beat UDC's Joao Brusamolin to the right side as Brusamolin guessed and dove left, and Queens had its insurance goal, up 2-0.

The Firebirds managed only one more shot after falling behind 2-0, and Brostowski made his seventh save of the afternoon to preserve his complete game shutout victory. UDC's Brusamolin stopped four shots and allowed two goals in the loss.