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Dayton Falls to UIC 2-1 on Late Goal
Dayton Falls to UIC 2-1 on Late Goal
Christopher Rieman
Published by Chris R
09-24-2011
Dayton Falls to UIC 2-1 on Late Goal

DAYTON (OH) -- Even when the Flyers take a step forward, the pain of losing doesn't get easier.

Despite playing their best soccer in weeks, UD found another way to lose a match, falling 2-1 to Illinois-Chicago by surrendering the game-winner in the 89th minute. Dayton falls to 1-7-0 while the Flames improve to 5-1-2.

After a month of play that was largely ineffective and lacking a distinct purpose, the Flyers changed course on Friday evening and emphasized possession and greater patience on offense. The posture was evident from the opening minutes as UD looked far more composed and willing to knock the ball around and show purposeful team play. By avoiding the ambitious long ball and concentrating on sustained possession, UD's offense looked structured and meaningful as they moved the ball forward into the attacking half of the field.

Over the first 20 minutes, the run of play was back and forth as neither side developed a favorable edge. Dayton played the ball at the feet of teammates in longer stretches than past matches, and it was no coincidence they were then able to counter UIC's offense by playing keep-away.

Not that progress was entirely complete. UD still sent unnecessary long balls up field with high ambition and little purpose when players turned impatient, but those stretches were largely the exception rather than the rule.

The Flames scored first on a break along the left side of the box in the 35th minute. With a shot inside the near post from 12 yards out, Dayton found themselves down 1-0 but not totally down and out. Given the run of play, the Flyers showcased enough spunk to stay in the match and nab an equalizer if they remained persistent over the remainder of the match.

UIC took the 1-0 lead to intermission, holding a slim 6-5 edge in shots while the Flyers dominated on corner kicks 4-0.

Dayton got off to a good start in the second half when sophomore Andres Acevedo cleaned up a ball directly in front of the mixer to tie the match at 1-1 in the 51st minute. Acevedo was Johnny-on-the-spot, but his excellent work rate was noticeable throughout the match and one of the key reasons UD kept themselves in the game.

As the second half continued, UD lost some shape in the midfield and the venerable impatience crept back in a bit. But the Flames were never dominating and that alone continued to give Dayton a great chance of scoring the game-winner or salvaging a hard-fought tie.

While the soccer wasn't great in all areas, the effort and willingness to possess the ball paid off in spades from a competitiveness standpoint against quality opposition. As the second half continued, the run of play suggested the next goal by either side would hold up as the probable game-winner.

Unfortunately, a brilliant piece of work in the 89th minute won the match for UIC and dealt the Flyers another loss -- perhaps the most frustrating of the season thus far. A nifty UIC heel pass caught the Flyers flat-footed along the right side of the box, and the Flames capitalized with an open player collecting the cheeky-played ball with a shot from point-blank range to seal Dayton's fate.

Match stats were fairly even with UIC owning a 15-12 shot advantage while UD out-cornered the Flames 5-3.

The result is like so many others this year, but the level of play was a definite step in the right direction. Still, the 1-7-0 Flyers are lacking experience and game-changing talent in most parts of the field. No matter how much the level of play improves -- and tonight was a full step forward in that regard -- the record is still the measuring stick everyone ultimately define the program with.

At this point, Dayton is playing for the A10 conference schedule and the second season allows the Flyers to start all over and leap-frog teams with better non-conference resumes'. If Dayton continues to emphasize more possession and less kick-and-run, there's a chance the Flyers can hang tough or pull off an upset or two.

They get another chance to show their progress at Oakland (MI) on Sunday afternoon. Like any project near the bottom attempting to move up, it may get worse before it gets better however. This is a team with moderate to severe hangups compared to the opposition -- a lot of it stemming from a lack of college savvy and experience. You can only coach so much into a player. The rest is on-the-job training.
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