WASHINGTON, DC – A little over a minute into overtime, sophomore midfielder Quinton Pavan ripped off his career-high 4th goal of the afternoon to send the host Firebirds to a thrilling, 10-9 season-opening victory over Alderson Broaddus on Saturday afternoon at Georgetown Multi Sport Field.
Pavan (Childhood Education – Port Coquitlam, BC/Blue Ridge HS) scored the Firebirds’ first two goals as well as their final two goals to lead UDC (1-0) to victory. All-East Coast Conference Honorable Mention sophomore attack Chase Fraser (Elementary Education – Aldergrove, BC/Blue Ridge HS) added two goals as he took a game-high 16 shots (8 SOG), and sophomore attack Brock Thompson-Marshall (Business Management – Sooke, BC/Claremont Secondary) added a pair of goals in his Firebird debut as well.
Defensively, UDC was led by senior defender Kamaal Stanley (Business Management – Saratoga Springs, NY/SUNY Delhi) with two caused turnovers as the Firebirds, collectively, caused 12 of the Battlers’ 28 turnovers. Junior goalkeeper Pat Payne (Environmental Science – Catonsville, MD/CCBC Catonsville), in his first career start at UDC, made 13 saves while allowing nine goals in 61:18 of action to earn the win.
Pavan scored UDC’s first goal of the season a little over two minutes into the action during a man-up situation and then added a 2nd goal less than two minutes later. Afterwards, senior midfielder Stevens Cadet (Political Science – Elmont, NY/Genesee CC) ended a nearly four-minute scoring drought with his 1st goal of the season, followed less than two minutes later by Fraser’s first goal of the season with the Firebirds down a man, and UDC had a 4-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the action.
With only 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Alderson Broaddus’ 6’5, 300 lb. reserve attack, Keir Yonge, powered his way to the net and put the Battlers on the board to give his team some life. AB’s Joshua Jakell won the ensuing faceoff and marched down the field to add another Battler goal and make it, 4-2. However, freshman midfielder Teilen Celentano (Accounting – Ottawa, ON/E.S.P. Louis-Riel) would win the next faceoff, setting up Fraser’s 2nd goal just before the buzzer to end the first quarter. UDC out-shot AB 14-9, won the ground ball battle, 12-7 and won 6-of-7 faceoffs (courtesy of Celentano who won 15-of-22 faceoffs for the game), which all led to a 5-2 advantage after one period.
Neither team could generate much offense in the second period, but Aldersson Broaddus did manage two goals to pull within a goal by halftime, 5-4.
Thompson-Marshall scored the first goal of the 2nd half as he fired a shot past Dom Moriarty (14 saves, 10 goals allowed) for his first career goal at UDC just past the 12-minute mark of the 3rd quarter. Cadet was credited with the assist. Also in the third quarter, senior attack Ben Taylor (Biology – New Westminster, BC/Simon Fraser Univ.) registered his first goal of the season off of an assist by Celentano, as UDC out-scored Alderson Broaddus, 2-1 to take a 7-5 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Consecutive goals by AB’s Jesse Worley and Joseph Ravenell, both within a 19-second span, earned the Battlers a 7-all tie with 12:20 still to play in regulation. Twice, UDC took one-goal leads courtesy of goals by Thompson-Marshall and Pavan, but AB answered each time. Pavan scored UDC’s final goal of regulation at the 3:33 mark, and it was not until there was just 35 seconds remaining that Jordan Look scored his first goal of the day to send the game to overtime, tied 9-9.
Jakell, who had won 3-of-4 faceoffs in the 4th quarter to help the Battlers stage their comeback, won the first and only faceoff of the four-minute overtime session to give AB possession to start the period. That possession, however, only resulted in a wide shot by Yonge, followed by a Connar Abrams shot saved by Pat Payne, and ultimately a Battler turnover caused by senior defender Phillip Foster (Mass Media – Baltimore, MD/Dean College).
Following a ground ball pickup by Stanley and a good clear, UDC head coach Scott Urick called a timeout. Out of the timeout, Pavan attacked the left side for his 4th goal of the day and the game-winner.
UDC will look to improve to 2-0 on the season on Friday, March 6th as the Firebirds visit East Coast Conference foe Dominican at Torne Valley Sports Complex. Game time is at 4 p.m.
