AMHERST, N.Y. - Santiago Gordillo Martinez scored in the 56^th minute to propel the University of the District of Columbia over Daemen University, 2-1, in East Coast Conference men's soccer action Saturday afternoon at Karrer Field.
 
With the win, the Firebirds improved to 3-6-2 and 1-3 in ECC action while the Wildcats dropped 3-5-2 and 0-4-1 in conference play.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
• Tied 0-0 early on, Firebirds midfielder Isaiah Daniel collided with senior goalkeeper Arturo Bustamante (South Gate, Calif.) in the box, resulting in the referee awarding a penalty kick for the visitors. Alex Gamez took the penalty for the Distirct of Columbia and was initially stopped by Bustamante, but he collected his miss and sent the ensuing shot into the back of the net to open the scoring in the 26^th minute.
• Less than a minute later with Daemen on the attack, Niaza Tamini dragged senior Rayane Baitiche (Thionville, France) down in the box, resulting in the referee now awarding a penalty kick for the Wildcats.
• On the ensuing penalty, Baitiche lobbed the ball past Sergio Becerra to tie the match, 1-1 in the 27^th minute.
• Tied 1-1 entering the second half, the Firebirds nearly broke the deadlock as Gamez was awarded another penalty kick, but sent the ball over the crossbar to keep the sides deadlocked.
• The visitors took the lead for good in the 55^th minute as Gordillo Martinez deflected a ball off a free kick from Isaiah Daniel into the back of the net to make it a 2-1 contest.
• The Wildcats pressured the District of Columbia the rest of the way and nearly tied the game in the 80^th minute off consecutive shots from Gaëtan François (Limoges, France) and Miguel Galindo (North Hills, Calif.), but Becerra saved both to preserve the visitors 2-1 lead to the final whistle.
• The District of Columbia outshot Daemen, 20-11 and held a slight 8-7 edge on corners.
• Bustamante made eight saves for the Wildcats while Becerra made six for the Firebirds. Both played the full 90 minutes.
 
GAME NOTES
• Baitiche scored the first penalty kick goal for Daemen this season with his tally in the 27^th minute.
• The District of Columbia now leads the all-time series, 10-0-1, with the series dating back to the 2013 campaign.
• Along with Bustamante, Niko Elie (Auckland, New Zealand), Ajan Rajamohan (Spencerport, N.Y.) and Jean Tilo (Port-au-Prince, Haiti) played the full 90 minutes.
• Bustamante entered today's contest ranked 23^rd in the nation for goalie minutes played with 810:00 and is 12^th in the nation for total saves with 45. Additionally, he was ranked  20^th nationally and third in the conference for saves per game with an average of 5.00.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will head north to New Hampshire to take on Saint Anselm on Oct. 15 with kick-off set for 1 p.m.

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Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

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