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MSOC: St. Louis Slips By Dayton 1-0
MSOC: St. Louis Slips By Dayton 1-0
Christopher Rieman
Published by Chris R
10-09-2016
Lightbulb MSOC: St. Louis Slips By Dayton 1-0

A world-class strike from long distance was all it took for the St. Louis Billikens to hold off the Dayton Flyers 1-0 Saturday evening at Baujan Field. The half-volley from 25yds found the left upper 90 and the Flyers couldn't match it with an equalizer. Dayton falls to 4-6-2 (1-1-1) while St. Louis improves to 3-4-3 (2-0-0).

The opening minutes of the first half were hard-fought as both sides did their best to establish a commanding posture on the ball. That proved difficult however as the match quickly turned into a defensive struggle. The Flyer and Billiken offenses had several great chances to generate a push forward, but the back lines of both teams were tough to solve -- a storyline that would play itself out over the entire match.

The Bills were especially compact in their defensive half of the field, routinely squatting eight, nine, and even all 10 field players behind the ball in order to provide a steady resistance. That's not to say Sloo was bunkering -- they weren't. Their forwards and midfielders were just committed to tracking back and clogging the passing lanes to make it difficult for Dayton to find attacking space.

Each side generated a handful of shots, but most were not threatening until Sloo's Saadiq Mohammed poached a poor clearance by the Flyer defense in the central part of the Billiken attack and uncorked a wicked half-volley from 25yds out that sailed past GK Federico Barrios to the top left corner of the net in the 22nd minute. Barrios had no chance at a save. Down 1-0, the Flyers had some catch-up to do.

The remainder of the half was fairly even. Each team took turns attempting to capitalize on mistakes, but mistakes were few and far between. It was a very competitive first half and mostly well-played even if it wasn't an offensive masterpiece. UD's best chance came on a quality header off a corner kick, but the ball was redirected at the Billiken goalkeeper. First half stats were even as well -- Sloo held a 6-5 edge in shots while UD won the battle of corner kicks 4-3.

The second half re-start was an important one for the Flyers. They needed a sense of urgency to speed up the pace of play in order to take better advantage of their counter-attacking opportunities. If anything was settled in the first half, it was the inability of Dayton to out-flank St. Louis with their methodical touches of the ball. The pace was too slow, weak-side balls were slow to develop, and one-touch passing was a rarity. The Flyers needed a course correction in the final 45 minutes and improve their tempo.

It was a mixed bag however. UD tried long balls over the top with mostly unsuccessful results. When they did counter on the ground, too many touches of the ball slowed down the passing game and stalled the challenges. The Billikens continued to shove numbers behind the ball, oftentimes sprinting like a chorus line back to their defensive third to ensure they out-numbered UD attacking players.

With free space at a premium, Dayton tried their best to shove balls in the box on free kicks with the hope someone could redirect the long service into the net. A couple chances were indeed dangerous and looked optimistic, but the St. Louis back line continued to defend their goal box with numerous blue jerseys.

A couple ambitious shot attempts from long range kept Sloo goalkeeper Ben Yeagar honest, but his best moment came on a botched clearance by his back line later in the second half. It required a tip-save from inside the goal box while defending an open net and protected their 1-0 lead.

A few more free kicks and corner kicks gave the Flyers a chance in the waning moments, but poor service or quality defending kept the ball away and the Bills held on for the hard-fought 1-0 victory on the road.

Overall, Sloo outshot UD 12-10, but shots on goal were 4-2 in favor of the Flyers. Corner kicks were 8-6 in favor of St. Louis.

It was a competitive match that was full of hustle. It's hard to fault the effort by either side -- especially by the Flyers. Dayton's defense did just about everything they needed to. The Billikens registered just two shots on goal all night.

Still, the tactics and speed of play worked against UD for long stretches and made it easier for St. Louis to throw massive numbers behind the ball whenever they could. Credit should also go to Sloo for hustling back on transition defense -- oftentimes eight or nine Sloo players out-legged two or three Flyer attacking players and turned what seemed to be a jailbreak into a decided disadvantage for the home team. UD is still searching for a conduit in the midfield to link the defense to the offense like Amass Amankona did last season. Until that player emerges, the run of play is likely to stay in the air rather than on the ground.

UD also seemed to wear down a bit as the match got late. Head Coach Dennis Currier used just three subs all night. That said, the Bills used just one. The Bills had game-changing speed at a couple key positions on the field and that also affected UD's ability to push forward with sustained possession.

The Flyers remain at home for a Tuesday match against Ft. Wayne. The match was canceled earlier in the season and rescheduled.
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