The Dayton Flyers couldn’t solve a Richmond defense that played alike a brick wall for much of Sunday’s match at Baujan Field, and the Spiders used a 12th minute goal to hold on for a 1-0 victory against the #8 team in the country. The Flyers eight game unbeaten streak is snapped as UD falls to 9-2-2 (4-1). The Spiders improve to 6-4-4 (3-0-3).

Dayton got off to a great start in this match, and just as they did against GW, managed to create offense without the services of Chris Rolfe who’s still sidelined with a groin injury. But while the Flyers were controlling play and moving the ball into the Richmond half of the field, Dayton couldn’t cash in on their opportunities — and this would end up being the storyline of the game. The Spiders, who field a lot of size and play very physical, had problems getting possession in the early going but when they did it was mostly kick-and-run into the Dayton half of the field. Fortunately for them, it paid off on a couple occasions as they corralled the ball and placed a couple dangerous serves in the box. Dayton tightened up when they needed to however and turned them away. Unfortunately, Richmond made the Flyers pay for a giveaway in the back when a Flyer slipped while challenging a loosely played ball and Colin Vint buried a rocket into the top corner of the near post from 15yds out on the right side as GK Matt Handy approached and tried to pull a rabbit out of the hat. Handy ultimately had no chance on it and Richmond was on top 1-0 in the 12 minute of play despite getting soundly beaten in the possession department.

With Dayton controlling things but down a goal, it seemed like the Flyers were always just moments away from find the right combination and netting the equalizer. But Dayton’s offense bogged down once it reached the Spider penalty box. Even with several free kicks placed in the box, the Flyers were unable to match Richmond’s size and determination to win high balls. As the half wore on it became obvious that serving those lofting 50/50 balls would get UD nowhere and nothing changed for the remainder of the half or in the second half either. Dayton’s best chance was two fold: play quicker to get Richmond defenders flat-footed and play the ball on the ground and work things through the defense — not over it. The Flyers did create a couple great chances before the end of the first half, especially one right in front of the box that UD kissed off the crossbar. But halftime came and 1-0 had to find a way to get the job done in the second half. The 1-0 deficit at halftime was somewhat disappointing due to the fact that UD had the better play in the first 45 minutes, but Richmond capitalized better and were so strong in the air in their defensive third of the field that it was an entertaining yet frustrating half to watch. Dayton outshot Richmond 8-4 in the first half and had a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.

The Flyers continued to hustle in the second half and give a very good effort, but Richmond was up to the task as well. The Spiders, perhaps as well-coached as any conference foe in the Atlantic-10, combined that with their great aerial play and stinginess on defense to keep Dayton from getting quality chances on goal. In fact, Dayton kept creating dangerous chances — far more than Richmond — yet when the Flyers came to the 18yd box things just bottomed out. Where Chris Rolfe’s absence was hardly felt against George Washington on Friday, his dynamic ability up top would have made a difference in this match because UD needed someone to flat-foot a defender and create something one-on-one. To UD’s credit they tried working the ball to the weak side often and put a lot of combinations together in the midfield and along the flanks to beat the UR defense, but they never gave UR defenders an element of sheer terror either. Dayton’s best chance in the second half to tally the equalizer came right in front of the UR box on a pair of scrums. And UD had placed a couple laser beams on goal but every time they hit a Richmond defender square and never made the goalkeeper come up with a big save. Frustrating no doubt, it seemed like the Spiders had 15 players on the field — most of them in the box — whenever UD reached the 18yd line and tried to make something count. A corner kick in the final two minutes as UD’s last real chance to score, but nothing came of it and UR earned a hard-fought victory against a Flyer squad who played hard but struggled offensively to solve the Spider defense. Coach Schureck gave senior Jeff Suzuki and freshman Tony DiBello a chance to create something by coming off the bench to provide a spark, but Richmond’s back line was always up to the challenge. The Flyers tried using their wide defenders — Dan Thomas and Dasan Robinson — to attack from the back as well. For the match, Dayton outshot Richmond 20-10 and earned six corner kicks to three.

GK Matt Handy had an excellent match and made at least three saves that were of the highest quality. Handy continues to play extremely well and had no chance on Richmond’s lone goal. For Handy, it may have been a frustrating afternoon because UD had many more scoring opportunities, yet Handy was the only goalkeeper who had to come up with big saves as Richmond GK Mike Nwaneri had a relatively easy go of things. Don’t let the stats fool either because Nwaneri had seven saves to Handy’s four, but Handy turned away at least two shots that GKs of a lesser caliber would have been unable to stop. Despite the loss, the Flyers didn’t play poor soccer. They hustled like fans have come to expect and had the better of play against a Spider program that’s probably better than all but one or two teams the Flyers have faced this year. While other opponents like UW-Milwaukee or Oakland are more dynamic, Richmond is disciplined and makes very few mistakes. That ultimately led to their victory. That said, the Spiders would not have been able to play so conservatively in the back line had Rolfe been in there to pull defenders away and force double teams.

Dayton has a good chance to rebound next week as they travel to LaSalle and Fordham for Friday and Sunday matches. The Flyers should be heavily favored in both and unless things fall apart early, there’s a good chance Rolfe will continue to sit out.