Men’s Soccer seniors celebrated at Segra Field

Top L-R: Assistant Coach Iian Langston, Kenec Elvir, Thomas Cecil, David Box, Jake Bedforth, Samuel Nicolodi, Ivan Meza-Baez and Head Coach Matthew Thompson. Bottom L-R: Jorge Silva, Eduardo Bugay, Simon Birnstad, Javier Abadia Torres and Diego Meza-Baez.

Eleven seniors were honored for their efforts and commitment on Saturday, October 23, at Segra Field, a soccer-specific stadium in Leesburg, Virginia, and home of Loudoun United FC (USL Championship. It is the largest graduating class to play under Coach Matthew Thompson.

“We will miss every one of them,” Coach Thompson said. “We have enjoyed coaching them and having them as part of our growing program. Each one will be sorely missed both on and off the field. I hope they will look back on their time at UDC with fond memories and have enjoyed being part of something special.”

In their last home game of the season, the team tied 1-1 against the College of Staten Island and moved to 6-7-2, 1-5-1 ECC, while the Dolphins moved to 4-9-2, 2-2-2 ECC.

“My experience at UDC has been great,” said Diego Meza-Baez. “I’ve made lifelong friends and memories throughout my time here. My favorite memory was assisting my twin brother (Ivan Meza-Baez) against Molloy to give us the lead last year.”

Fellow student-athlete Jake Bedforth said that the UDC Athletics and the Men’s Soccer Program is a great environment to play in and be a part of.

“We have made some special memories that will last a lifetime,” he said.

Team member David Box said, “These two years at UDC have been one of the best experiences of my life—being able to play the sport that I love while getting a degree and living in a city like Washington D.C. is something I couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. Once a Firebird, always a Firebird.”

UDC will head to N.Y. to face off against Daemen College on Saturday, October 29. To view more photos from the event, please click here.