DAYTON (OH) -- One down, 18 to go.
The Dayton Flyers needed double overtime to do it, but the foot of sophomore Colleen Williams downed the Butler Bulldogs 1-0 in the season opener Friday afternoon at Baujan Field. Freshman Juliana Libertin beat a defender along the left side and threaded a cross in the middle of the box to earn the assist. Dayton heads into Sunday's match against Toledo with a 1-0 record while Butler falls to 0-1.
To provide a blow by blow account of the first half would also represent much of the second half and overtime periods. From start to finish, much of the play was scattered and disjointed by both sides. Teammates had trouble linking up and exploiting space on the wings, especially the soft middle of the field just aft of the midfield circle.
Butler suffered from a talent disadvantage, but had better speed at a couple attacking positions to keep UD's back line honest.
Dayton threw several balls in the box early in the first half, but couldn't find a teammate on the end of each cross to polish it off. The best scoring opportunity came about 20 minutes after the opening whistle when Williams tattooed a ball off the crossbar from 22 yards out. Kelly Blumenschein hit the post as well to keep the match scoreless. Quality shots on goal however were few and far between as the rest of the chances ended in routine stops or clears; some of them after nice buildups out of the back line.
Outshot 10-3 in the first half, Butler looked comfortable playing for the tie to start the second half. But the second half shots were relatively even over the final 45 minutes. The Bulldogs missed a pair of golden opportunities to steal the match when two separate counter-attacks turned into jailbreaks. Behind the back line and with only goalkeeper Lisa Rodgers to beat, Butler gagged on each chance and probably lost the match because of the poor finishing. The two chances were among the few Bulldog scoring threats all day and their inability to capitalize likely speaks to their 7-11-1 record from 2009. Sub .500 teams tend to snatch failure from the jaws of success all too often.
Dodging a couple bullets, Dayton continued to work the ball forward to the Bulldog penalty box as the second half wore on; they just couldn't link up past it. Over the last eight minutes of regulation, Butler countered with their best effort of the day, pushing UD into a defensive posture that required a few clears out of dangerous positions.
The Flyers out-shot Butler 7-1 in the first overtime while dominating inside the box. Time and again it looked like UD would create enough open space to crack a solid strike of the ball past BU goalkeeper Olivia Walter, but Butler always had a foot or torso in the way to deflect the scoring chance and force Dayton to re-start. The Flyers suffered from poor spacing as well, sucking in too many defenders toward the box or impeding teammates looking to create. The pressure on goal was there however and with a little more perseverance, things could work out.
That's what pretty much happened to start the second overtime. Libertin's work rate along the left touchline won a loose ball and positioned her in front of the first defender. The well-earned effort earned her enough time and space to cross a low ball 12 yards out that found the unmarked feet of Williams. Williams one-touched it forward, stepped unimpeded to the six yard line, and slotted it in the net for the game winner.
Head Coach
Mike Tucker's squad took care of business and survived the opener; that's all most coaches hope for before returning to practice with some material to work with on the whiteboard. They earned few style points and struggled for the most of the match to find synchronicity between the midfield and forward players. Perhaps opening game jitters and the hot temperatures put everyone in a funk, but the Flyers were unable to reduce the number of touches at the feet and speed up the match to take advantage of their talent. Without an urgency to get forward with one- and two-touch soccer, Butler took advantage on defense and bottle-necked the run of play by flooding players behind the ball.
That's not to say UD failed to threaten the goal. The Flyers racked up 28 shots, but just eight were on frame. The pace was too slow inside the box and too many touches kept Dayton from catching Butler off guard. Some untimely offside flags also contributed to the frustration when Dayton slipped balls through the Butler back line to unmarked strikers mis-timing their runs or awaiting a late pass.
A lot of new faces saw action on Friday and it's fair to say much is left to shake out in terms of playing time and rotations. Most newcomers got their feet wet however and got a quick study on the difference in size and speed from the prep ranks to college. The overall product by newcomers and veterans alike passed the initial test (survive the opener anyway/anyhow), but the fine details are still to be sharpened.
But it's doubtful the staff is the least bit worried. Season openers are like root canals: coaches just want to get them over with. With so many unknowns and so many ways to start the year on the wrong foot, anything can happen in the first match. Winning is 9/10ths of the emphasis -- even if it means winning ugly. With a match under their belts now, the coaches and players can start addressing the strengths and weaknesses to take another step forward.
Goal number one in the 2009 season: survive the opener and begin the year 1-0-0. Mission accomplished.
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