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Nwabia's Brace Leads Dayton Past Fordham 2-1
Nwabia's Brace Leads Dayton Past Fordham 2-1
Christopher Rieman
Published by Chris R
10-05-2016
Smile Nwabia's Brace Leads Dayton Past Fordham 2-1

A goal in each half by forward Kennedy Nwabia provided a 2-0 cushion the Flyers needed to hold off the Fordham Rams 2-1 on Wednesday night at Baujan Field. Playing their first home game in over a month, the Flyers improve to 4-5-2 (1-0-1) while the Rams fall to 3-4-3 (0-1-1).

It took no time at all for the Flyers to get on the scoreboard. A Rok Taneski corner kick found the head of Kennedy Nwabia just 48 seconds into the match as the burly striker pounded it home from 6yds out to put UD ahead 1-0. Neither team had worked up a sweat, but the Flyers were already in the driver's seat.

The re-start produced some competitive soccer over the remainder of the half as both sides took turns probing the defense for weak spots to push players forward. The Rams had slightly more possession and were able to sustain longer sessions of the ball, but Dayton did better on counter-attacks along the touch lines. While shots on goal by both teams were infrequent, there were plenty of excellent scoring opportunities created by the offenses. Well-placed crosses in the box, strong runs down the flanks, and open space on the weak side generated chances that seemed destined to produce more scoring. To their credit however, the back lines of both teams held firm and turned away the most difficult challenges.

Fordham Head Coach Jim McElderry got ejected from the match in the 38th minute after earning a yellow card from the referee, refusing to zip his mouth, and immediately issued another yellow that ultimately sent him off the field. Without their skipper, the Rams tried to regroup.

Flyer goalkeeper Federico Barrios was up to the task however. He was solid in front of the net, punching balls out, challenging others, and distributing with his feet out of the goal box.

It wasn't much of a surprise that the remaining 44 minutes of the first half resulted in a scoreless draw. It was a competitive back-and-forth joust with neither side fully able to solve the opposition's defense. Halftime stats told a similar story: shots were even (6) and so too corner kicks (1). The only major difference was saves -- the Flyers required four while the Rams needed just one. Still, Dayton led where it counted the most -- the scoreboard.

The second half continued where the first half left off. The run of play remained largely back-and-forth. Dayton was slightly bigger and more physical in key spots, and that advantage proved important on a few tackles in the midfield that resulted in Flyer possession.

As the second half continued, the match opened up and both offenses started to find more room to make things happen. Scoring chances were more frequent and better quality, while possession by both teams was more focused and purposeful. Barrios continued to provide solid goalkeeping between the pipes, tipping balls away and sticking to his line on dangerous balls in his direction.

Taneski almost made it 2-0 mid-way through the second half, but his low, line-drive penalty kick was saved by the diving mitt of Ram GK Rashid Nuhu to keep the score 1-0. Nuhu guessed well and anticipated Taneski's shot a bit -- but it was also well-struck near the post and where PKs usually terminate to the back of the net.

Nwabia missed on a bicycle kick not long thereafter, going upstairs from about 15yds that required a tip-save over the crossbar. But he'd get another chance to add a second goal in the following minutes.

Michael Frasca idled at midfield as a redirected ball caught the Ram defense by surprise as it sailed over the heads. Frasca was unmarked and had only the goalkeeper to beat with a long dribble-drive from the center circle. The Ram defenders caught Frasca and knocked him down as he took a shot inside the box, but the ball deflected to an unmarked Nwabia sitting left of the goal. He finished off the play to make it 2-0 in the 69th minute. From there, the match felt pretty secure.

Fordham made it interesting in the 80th minute after beating Barrios near-post on a rocketed shot from 15yds out. Barrios did well on a tip-out from the far post just seconds earlier, but his back line was loose on the opposite side and by the time he recovered there was too much to overcome. With the score now 2-1 and 10 minutes to go, the Rams turned up the pressure and tried to find an equalizer.

Thankfully, UD kept their shape and turned away all the necessary balls to preserve the win. To their credit, the Rams never quit and had some good looks in the final minutes. Dayton was up to the challenge however and made the plays they needed to make.

Second half stats reflected the more offense-oriented run of play as UD beat Fordham 9-7 and 5-4 on shots and corner kicks.

Dayton needed a victory and just as important needed to protect the home field after being away from campus for over a month. Fordham is unlikely to challenge for the top of the A10 standings when all is said and done, but that's probably not important in terms of UD's continued growth and progress. Dayton has two more matches at home -- a conference match with St. Louis and a make-up date with IP-Fort Wayne. Continuing to protect the home field -- that's two victories in a row going back to the OT win over Belmont -- is the next immediate challenge.
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