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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's soccer team opened the 2014 season with a 2-1 loss to the University of D.C. Thursday evening at James Egli Field in non-conference action.
 
It was a bittersweet loss as the Firebirds are coached by former SRU men's soccer standout and head coach Matt Thompson, who graduated from The Rock in 1998 and went on to lead the program to 76 wins and three conference titles from 2004-09 as a head coach.
 
Thursday's game also marked the debut of a new era for Rock men's soccer as first-year head coach Andy Hoggarth coached his first game in the Green and White.
 
"I thought it was a game of two halves," said Hoggarth after the game. "We played aggressively and had a lot of chances in the second half. I thought we deserved at least a draw based on the second half, but we just needed to be a bit better in the first half."
 
The Firebirds fought off a couple early chances from Slippery Rock and then scored the first goal of the game off a rebound in front of the net to take a 1-0 lead in the 42nd minute. Hassirou Diakite was credited with goal after Jimmy Alvardo's initial shot rebounded off the keeper out in front.
 
The toughest pill to swallow for Slippery Rock came just moments before the halftime whistle, when a defender was called for a foul in the box, awarding a penalty kick to UDC. Nenad Smiljanic converted the attempt with just 25 seconds before halftime to put the visitors up 2-0.
 
"I thought the way the guys battled back was a big positive," said Hoggarth after his team responded in the second half.
 
Slippery Rock got on the board in the 58th minute when Dom Francis made a move around two defenders before being brought down in the box. He converted his penalty kick to make it 2-1 with just over 30 minutes to play.
 
The Rock nearly equalized on two attempts late in the game before Francis was ejected after his follow through on a shot made contact with a UDC player. He was given a straight red card in the 79th minute, forcing SRU to play down a man.
 
Less than four minutes later, Smiljanic was also given a straight red card, leaving each team with 10 players for the final 8:43.
 
Slippery Rock had two more chances to even the score, but could not find the tying goal as time expired.
 
UDC finished the game with advantages of 19-11 in total shots and 9-5 in shots on goal. Slippery Rock posted a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
 
Connor Louis earned the win in goal for the Firebirds, recording four saves.
 
Steven Rerick made his first start in goal for Slippery Rock and finished the game with seven saves.
 
The Rock will have little time to recover as Urbana visits Mihalik-Thompson Stadium Sunday at 1 p.m. for another non-conference game.