University of the District of Columbia Men’s Soccer Ranked No. 7 in East Region
KANSAS CITY, KS – The University of the District of Columbia men's soccer team was ranked No. 7 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division II Men's Soccer East Region week two poll, released on September 11th, 2012.
The Firebirds are off to a 3-0-1 start that includes two consecutive victories last week over Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference schools, Shippensburg and Mercyhurst. District of Columbia erased two different one-goal deficits and finished with two unanswered goals all during the first half for a wacky, 3-2 win over Shippensburg. Then, the Firebirds used a goal by sophomore accounting major Byron Brown (Silver Spring, MD – Pocono Mountain HS) early in the second half to come away with a 1-0 win over Mercyhurst – a team that has advanced to the NCAA Tournament each of the past three seasons.
Sophomore electrical engineering major Bakary Coulibaly (Hyattsville, MD (Mali) – La Lumiere HS), who was named East Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week yesterday, is tops on the team and 2nd in the ECC in goals (3) while senior physical education major Adriel Garcia (Sau Paulo, Brazil – Anglo Campinas) is tied for 1st in the ECC with three assists. The Firebirds also rank No. 7 in the country in shutout percentage, as they have shut out three of their four opponents this year.
Two Northeast-10 schools, Southern New Hampshire and Franklin Pierce, are ranked No. 1 and 2 respectively. Bentley and UMass-Lowell, both also of the NE-10, round out the top-6. LIU Post (formerly CW Post) of the ECC comes in at No. 3, followed by another ECC school, Mercy at No. 4.
The Firebirds visit Holy Family on Tuesday and then come home to host their first ECC game as a member of the conference on Saturday against LIU Post. The Pioneers are ranked No. 17 in this week's NSCAA National Poll.