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View Full Version : Flyers Thump Ball State 4-0


Chris R
09-11-2009, 11:28 PM
DAYTON (OH) -- The frustrating, scoreless draws in Coral Gables last weekend are history. The Dayton Flyers scored four times for the second time in as many home games as the Ball State Cardinals had no answer for the balanced scoring and defense of the home team. UD remains undefeated at 3-0-3 while BSU remains winless at 0-5.

Dayton took control of the match from the opening whistle and never felt threatened over the next 90 minutes. That's not to say Ball State didn't manufacture some possession and generate a few dangerous scoring chances of their own, but the Flyers imposed their will on the Cardinals from endline to endline.

Back from injury and a red card suspension in Florida last weekend, fans got their first glimpse of senior midfielder Colleen Gibson and she didn't disappoint early on. Providing that spark in the offense few others can, she jump-started the Flyer offense and distributed the ball around the field to open space and open teammates. With much of the action in BSU's defensive half, Dayton applied consistent pressure but couldn't find the back of the net -- mostly from a poor final touch when scoring opportunities blossomed.

The blue collar effort paid dividends in the 22nd minute however when Lauren MacCormick finished a breakaway for the 1-0 Dayton lead. That proved to be the only scoring of the first half, but the Flyers had other quality chances to add to it. To her credit, Cardinals goalkeeper Nicole Wood found herself in the right place at the right time to deny a pair of near-certain scores. None of that seemed to affect the Flyers however; the team continued to hustle for loose balls and communicate well even when some of their passing lost focus for short periods.

By halftime, the stats were one-sided just like the run of play. Ball State trailed in shots 15-3 and corner kicks 4-1.

Starting the second half, anything could happen. The Cardinals kept it close for 45 minutes and were in position to make a more competitive game of it. Perhaps they could find an equalizer and skip town with a tie (moral victory). All those thoughts were put to bed when Mandi Back cleaned up a terrific cross in the box near the weak side post to give Dayton a 2-0 advantage just three minutes into the second half. It was a great piece of teamwork helped in part by Kelly Blumenschein and Jerica DeWolfe combining for great service in the mixer.

The score took the air out of Ball State and they never seemed to recover. While they lost a half step over the last 40 minutes, Dayton got quicker. The home team stepped up the overall play and used the width of the field extremely well to stretch the play and find attackers on the touch lines. Ball State was threatened by the through-ball the entire second half and UD picked on that weakness time and again. Gibson threaded several terrific balls between the BSU back line to teammates running with a head of steam toward the box. Some chances were turned away and some went unfinished, but the ideas were there and indicated the players were thinking and playing smart soccer.

The best goal of the night came in the 61st minute when freshman Colleen Williams cut inside to open space, beat a defender, and rifled a shot into the net from 15yds out to give UD a 3-0 lead. The goal went un-assisted but Gibson made it happen by making a great run out of the box and into free space toward the corner flag. Bringing two defenders with her, she opened the lane for Williams to cut inside and finish the play.

The Flyer back line remained steadfast even with the comfortable lead. Allison Giner and Kathleen Beljan were tough on the outside and also held things together when center fullback Kelsey Miller left the match in the second half with an injury that didn't look serious.

MacCormick found the net for the second time in the match and third time in the season with 17 minutes left on a great cross from Tori Oelschlager directly in front of the box. MacCormick made a near post run and pounded it home after beating the goalkeeper to the ball. Up 4-0, it was time to warm up the bus.

Head Coach Mike Tucker used the remaining minutes to empty the bench. A total of 21 players saw the field and each of them gave solid efforts. The best example offered up came from senior Lauren Maybury. Playing 21 minutes in relief duty, she finished the match playing as hard in the last three minutes as others played in the first 10. Making half-field sprints and challenging 50/50 balls, it was great to see her providing an effort as strong as anyone even when the match was decided. She earned a lot of respect from the 1,584 fans in attendance.

Dayton clobbered Ball State in match stats. Final shots were 29-5 and corners were 10-1. The Cardinals had some team speed but not much else when technical skills required more gifted play. The Flyers earned their fifth shutout in six games. The back line and goalkeeping has been impressive thus far, allowing just one goal (Auburn).

UD remains at home for a Sunday afternoon match against Wright State. Fans should look out for former Flyer Brittany Persaud. Persaud played one year at UD before transferring across town during the offseason. She played in eight matches for UD last year and currently leads the Raiders in goals (2). At 2-3-1, WSU is a heavy underdog.