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Flyer Soccer Sweeps Sunday Twin-Bill at Baujan Field
Flyer Soccer Sweeps Sunday Twin-Bill at Baujan Field
Christopher Rieman
Published by Chris R
09-04-2016
Smile Flyer Soccer Sweeps Sunday Twin-Bill at Baujan Field

The UD men's and women's soccer teams played a doubleheader at Baujan Field for the second time on the weekend. After going 1-1 Friday, Dayton went 2-0 as Mike Tucker's women's team topped Purdue 3-0 for their first victory of the season -- and first match holding the opponent to less than two goals. The UD men followed it up with a fantastic performance against Belmont, evening their record at 2-2 with a 2-1 2OT victory.

WSOC GAME 1: Dayton 3 Purdue 0

Reeling big-time after four straight losses to open the 2016 season -- all of them after surrendering at least two goals in each match -- Dayton needed something to finally feel good about. For starters, the Flyers had yet to even hold a lead this year, but that was about to change on Sunday afternoon as the Purdue Boilermakers took on more than they could handle.

The storyline for UD this year has been surrendering first half goals and falling behind early -- five goals alone given up in the first 16 minutes. So it felt downright odd when UD got off to a hot start against the Boilers and found the back of the net in the 6th minute when Micayla Livingston finished off a Sidney Leroy free kick inside the Boiler box to put the Flyers up 1-0.

But the good news didn't stop there. Dayton kept plugging away and eventually earned another free kick beyond the left part of the goal box. Libby Leedom put her head on the cross and knocked it to the far post to seemingly put UD up 2-0 - but not without a bit of controversy. The ball found the bottom right corner of the post and then caromed out of bounds and off the UD Music/Theater building. The side official first indicated a corner kick -- while UD was begging for a goal and Purdue was begging for a goal kick. The header bounced through a loose part of the net after beating the Purdue goalkeeper -- causing the confusion. The officials eventually (and correctly) ruled the header a Flyer goal after a short meeting to discuss the play, much to the dismay of the Purdue fans in attendance.

Up 2-0, the Flyers were now in un-chartered waters. How would the Flyers play with a comfortable first half lead?

The answer was a mixed bag. Purdue was able to exploit a few gaps in Dayton's defensive shape at times, forcing Dayton GK Kaeyln Johns to command her goal box and take charge. What turned into one of the best matches of her career, Johns made all the right decisions and never hesitated when she needed to creep out from the goal line and take care of business.

Offensively, UD created additional chances as well. Forward Alexis Kiehl used her speed to probe the right flank, nearly getting past the last Boilermaker defender on a few occasions. The Flyers had some trouble converting excellent chances near the goal box however and could have easily extended the lead were it not for a couple loose touches that got away from them.

Halftime stats favored Purdue in shots 12-7 and corner kicks 6-2.

The second half turned a bit sloppier in overall play, perhaps somewhat due to the deteriorating playing conditions at Baujan Field as the turf started coming apart. Feeling the effects of eight soccer games in just two weeks, chunks of sod sprinkled the field like landmines.

Johns was huge in the second half to keep the Boilers off the scoreboard. She had at least two high-level tip-saves to deny Purdue, but a pair of punches in heavy traffic to push the ball away were even better. Her back line seemed to feed off her play and also did well to block a couple dangerous Purdue shots with a boot or torso.

The Flyers were taken down in the box later in the second half, but Meghan Blank's PK was easily denied by Boiler GK Erika Yohn to keep the score 2-0.

Leedom would earn the brace in the 87th minute after sealing off a defender and slotting a ball inside the post to make things 3-0 and round out the scoring.

For the match, Purdue outshot UD 23-17 and out-cornered the Flyers 10-6, but Mike Tucker's team wasted fewer opportunities inside the goal box and were helped in part by Johns' terrific performance in goal. The difference in the match was at goalkeeper and in the back line. The Flyer defense, despite the stats, made all the big plays and eliminated many of the gaffs and bugaboos that plagued them over the first four matches.

The Boilermakers are likely to struggle in the Big10 this year, but did beat Cincinnati -- a team the Flyers lost to in the season opener. They also played #4 West Virginia to a 2-0 score.

Dayton, now 1-4-0 on the season, returns to action next weekend with a road trip to Nebraska to play the Huskers and also Nebraska-Omaha.

MSOC GAME 2: Dayton 2 Purdue 1 2OT

The Flyer men's soccer team put forth a dominating performance Sunday afternoon against the Belmont Bison, but needed a pair of overtimes to seal the deal and even their season record at 2-2-0.

And by dominating, we mean in every conceivable way. From start to finish, Head Coach Dennis Currier's team did everything right but find the back of the net -- and on those occasions when they put shots on goal -- those shots were only denied due to a superhuman effort by Bison GK Mertcan Akar. On any other afternoon against any other goalkeeper, the Flyers probably win the match 4-0.

Dayton got after it from the opening kickoff and never let up. The work rate, soccer IQ, and ability to work the ball from strong side to weak side gave the Flyers a distinct tactical advantage all afternoon. The Bison never had enough possession to generate a serious push offensively. On defense, they struggled to defend the width of the field and were routinely back-pedaling against Flyer attacking players pushing forward on the dribble or making runs into free space.

Despite thoroughly dominating the first half however and out-shooting Belmont 19-2, the match was still scoreless.

Nothing changed in the second half other than both teams finding the back of the net -- though it came about under very different circumstances.

The Flyer offensive pressure finally paid off. Lalas Abubakar redirected a loose ball in the box to put Dayton up 1-0 in the 57th minute. The match seemed well in hand, especially since Belmont was being so thoroughly dominated and were unable to generate many offensive chances of their own.

The Bison lucked out in the 61st minute when UD was whistled for a foul in the box -- in a spot where Belmont was not seriously challenging for a goal-scoring opportunity. They put the PK away to tie the game at 1-1.

UD completely dominated over the remaining half hour of regulation but were unable to score the game-winner. It wasn't for a lack of trying however. Several shots seemed destined for the back of the net, only to be denied by incredible saves by the Belmont goalkeeper. The Flyers never let frustration overcome them however, continuing to pepper the net with crosses in the box and shots on goal. Still, Belmont did just enough to force extra time.

It took three minutes into the second overtime to finally put the Bison away. Kennedy Nwabia climbed the ladder and with a header, redirected a baseline cross from David Lianes to win the match 2-1 in the 113th minute.

For the match, UD generated an astounding 42-5 advantage in shots, including 16-2 in shots on goal. Corner kicks were just as lopsided -- 12-3.

Rok Taneski did excellent work as a pesky forward causing trouble for opposing defenders. The Flyer back line was tough all afternoon -- organized and highly-effective at swinging the ball from one side of the field to the other. In the central third, Dayton did equally well to win loose balls and other 50/50 challenges -- including high balls in the air. From start to finish, it was an impressive performance in all phases.

UD hits the road next weekend for matches against UNC-Wilmington and Marist.
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