UDPride Discussion Forums    
     

Go Back   UDPride Discussion Forums > LATEST ARTICLES > UDPride Articles

UDPride Articles Published content from your UDPride staff

» Log in
User Name:

Password:

Not a member yet?
Register Now!
» Advertisement
Comment
 
Article Tools Display Modes
UD Women's Soccer Tops Gauchos 2-0 in Home Opener
UD Women's Soccer Tops Gauchos 2-0 in Home Opener
Christopher Rieman
Published by Chris R
08-30-2014
UD Women's Soccer Tops Gauchos 2-0 in Home Opener

The Dayton Flyers women's soccer team opened up the home schedule Friday evening, earning their first victory of the season by topping the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos 2-0 in front of 1,106 Flyer fans at Baujan Field. Canadian duo Nicole Waters and Ashley Campbell found the back of the net mid-way through the second half to do the scoring damage, while the Flyer defense held tough for their first shutout of the season. UD improves to 1-1-1, while UCSB falls to 2-1.

The match started under sunny skies and would end in a late-summer thunderstorm, but not before the Flyers manufactured some lightning of their own.

Both teams were ready at kickoff as each team battled back and forth for possession in the midfield. Overall hustle and physicality was at a high level for extended periods, and the level of play was quite good. That included a commitment to defense as both teams had trouble cracking the opposition's back line. The Flyers and Gauchos stiffened up as the field got shorter and prevented the other team from getting quality touches inside the 18.

UCSB made the most of their size and speed along the forward flanks, sending balls up the touch lines in an attempt to turn the corner and crawl the baseline for crosses in the box. On a few occasions UCSB was successful as UD had trouble handling their scissor-cuts that freed them up to make a dashing move inward. The Flyer back line covered each other well however and goalkeeper Elizabeth James made a couple timely stops on UCSB's best scoring chances.

UD countered with balls played centrally to Nicole Waters and Erin O'Malley. From there, Dayton sent balls on diagonals near the corner flags for wider players pushing forward in the attack. The Gauchos did a nice job defensively to prevent Dayton from sending balls into the mixer however and while both teams were probing for holes, not many were found.

Dayton's best scoring chance of the first half came on a threaded ball to Campbell along the left side of the box. Dribbling past the last defender, she took a shot from 10yds out that required a saving stop from Gaucho goalkeeper Beth Ritter.

Not much was settled by halftime, except perhaps that one goal may decide the winner due to the balanced run of play. First half shots were even at six a piece, while corner kicks favored the Flyers 1-0.

The second half started much like the first 45 minutes ended. Each team worked diligently to probe the opposition for open space to make something happen. Both the Flyers and Gauchos did exceedingly well to knock the ball around and perform with a high soccer IQ, but neither side got loose inside the goal boxes.

After the 60th minute however, UD started to find space to operate, helped in part by substitute freshman forward Sidney Leroy working like a roadrunner up top to chase down errant balls, back passes, and goalkeeper clearances. Doing so forced UCSB into a few secondary turnovers as they rushed to handle the ball pressure, giving the Flyers some room to creep forward in numbers and apply some additional pressure.

Still, it took an individual moment of brilliance to break the scoreless tie when Nicole Waters wound up from 20 yards and buried a shot to the far left corner to put UD up 1-0 in the 63rd minute. Moments earlier, Waters went down with a knock to the lower body and had trouble running off a gimp, but she shook it off to put UD ahead with the ultimate game-winner.

Just 10 minutes later, the Flyers struck again on another high-level goal. This time was Campbell finishing off a Waters cross with a header from eight yards out to put Dayton firmly in control.

UD nearly made it 3-0 a few minutes later when they took a shot from distance and nailed the crossbar, only to follow up the carom and bang the re-direct off the right post to keep UCSB's fleeting chances alive.

Only down 2-0 and with dynamic speed and playmakers in the attack, the Gauchos had 15 minutes and enough firepower to get back into the match. Fortunately, UD's back line came up huge on several tackles and take-aways in the defensive third to turn UCSB away from goal and milk the clock. UCSB tried working the left flank and did their best to beat Allison Klinefelter along the edge of the goal box, but the resulting shots were poor in quality and resulted in several goal kicks -- and to her credit, James did well on most of her goal kicks.

Lightning in the distance could be seen as the final minutes of the match played out. Soon it was accompanied by thunder and a pop-up thunderstorm forced a halt to the match in the 88th minute and sent fans running for cover. After an extended wait, the game was called with Dayton declared the winner.

For the match, UD out-shot UCSB 18-14, including 8-5 in shots on goal. The deciding second half is where UD's bread was buttered, out-shooting the Gauchos 12-8.

It was a quality win against a quality team that brought a quality level of soccer to Baujan Field. It remains to be seen how well UCSB does in 2014, but we're betting they compete near the top of the Big West Conference this year. Compared to teams in the A10, they would compete for a conference title. They have size, speed, excellent tactics, and forced the Flyers to score on a pair of high-level shots to win the game.

Dayton's two big offensive weapons once again stepped up when they had to, and the defense played fundamentally sound and compact for much of the game. Every player offered something important to the run of play, including a high level of effort and hustle. Leroy was a huge shot in the arm offensively, while James had one of her best efforts in goal -- she wasn't asked to make a ton of saves but there is more to goalkeeping than simply stoning shots.

Dayton wraps up the weekend at home with a Sunday afternoon match against Murray State. Kickoff is 1pm.

















__________________

Hot shooting hides a multitude of sins.
Make everyone else's "one day" your "day one".
Article Tools
Comment

Article Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.1

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:55 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.6
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Advertisement System V2.6 By   Branden

Article powered by GARS 2.1.8m ©2005-2006

     
 
Copyright 1996-2012 UDPride.com. All Rights Reserved.