Firebirds Settle for 2-2 Tie in Back-and-Forth Battle vs. Wilmington

MILLERSVILLE, PA – In a battle of two NCAA Division II East Region preseason conference favorites, the University of the District of Columbia and Wilmington University played 110 minutes to a 2-2 double-overtime tie Saturday afternoon at Pucillo Field.

The East Coast Conference preseason favorite, UDC (1-0-1), fresh off a 2-0 season-opening win vs. Goldey-Beacom College on Thursday, featured goals by sophomore midfielder Gabriel Velluto and ECC Preseason Player of the Year, Gabriel Torres. Junior goalkeeper Joao Brusamolin (1-0-1) stopped six shots in a complete game effort.

The Wildcats (1-0-1), picked to win the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference this season, got a goal apiece from Fredrik Bentdal and Davion Wedderburn.

Wilmington had the advantage in shots (16-9) and corner kicks (11-3), but sound defense, outstanding goalkeeping and taking advantage of their offensive opportunities allowed the Firebirds to force the draw. A physical contest, the two teams combined for 22 fouls, 10 yellow cards and two red cards.

After a slow first half for both teams, the action picked up dramatically in the second half with four goals scored among the two teams. Velluto opened the scoring in the 51^st minute, taking a long pass by Michel Egbame through the midfield and blasting a shot past WU's Vinny Tasca to give UDC a 1-0 lead.

That lead did not last long though, as just over four minutes later, Bentdal responded with a goal off a cross sent in by Dimitrios Topouzlis to force a 1-1 tie.

Almost nine minutes later, Wedderburn added an unassisted goal to put Wilmington in front, 2-1. The Wildcats were out-shooting the Firebirds, 5-2 in the closing half to that point and looked to have the momentum; however, back-to-back yellow cards assessed to WU's Callum McHale resulted in his ejection from the game, and Wilmington then had to play a man-down for the remaining 25 minutes of regulation and ultimately, both overtimes.

At that point, UDC went back to work offensively, earning a corner kick right around the 68-minute mark, and its set-piece resulted in a whistle for a Wildcats foul in the box. The Firebirds were awarded a penalty kick, where Torres has excelled throughout his career. The All-American beat Tasca for his 2^nd goal of the season – both on PK's, and knotted the score, 2-2.

Neither team was able to break that 2-2 tie in the final 22 minutes of regulation despite both teams putting two shots on goal. UDC junior forward Malik Thom tried to score the gamewinner at the 83:45 mark, but Tasca was up to the task. Later, Wilmington's Sam Jester fired a shot around the 86-minute mark, but a defensive save by Velluto kept the Wildcats out of the UDC goal.

UDC out-shot WU 2-1 in the first overtime session, including a shot on goal near the end of the period by Torres, but neither team could score the golden goal in the first 10 minutes.

In the 2^nd overtime period, Wilmington applied all the offensive pressure with a 5-0 shot advantage and 4-0 corner kick advantage. Still, just two of the Wildcats' shots were on goal, and Brusamolin saved both to preserve the tie.

Next up, UDC will visit non-regional opponent Barton College on Wed., Sept. 5 at Richmond, Va.