DAYTON (OH) — Four professional-quality goals paced the Flyers to a comfortable 4-0 win over hapless Xavier on Friday evening at Baujan Field, clinching at least a share of the A10 regular season title with St. Louis and ensuring Head Coach Dennis Currier’s squad of the #1 seed in the A10 tournament. With one conference match yet to play — a make-up date at St. Bonaventure — only the outright title remains up for grabs. The nationally-ranked Flyers improve to 12-4-1 (7-1) while the Muskies end the year at 2-13-1 (1-8).

The first 20 minutes of action in the chilly November weather was equally cold and un-inspiring for the most part. Each side kicked the ball around and tried to open up space to make things happen, but each time a few balls were linked together the play deteriorated and possession was lost. Not that both teams weren’t working hard; there was just little to show for their efforts. The Muskies looked much better than their two-win season would indicate and had some chances to get forward and fight for something good. The Dayton back line stood strong however and turned those random opportunities away.

The field opened up for both sides in the 20th minute when UD defender Jack Pearson and Xavier’s El-Hadji Dieng got into a shoving match that resulted on a double-ejection. With each side down to nine field players, fans assumed the play would open up. Not long thereafter, it did.

Jeff Popella got the Flyers on the scoreboard in the 29th minute off a terrific give-and-go sequence with Alex Torda. Torda set it up and Popella crushed the good look with a ballistic missile to the upper 90 of the far post from 18 yards out for the 1-0 advantage. It was one of the cleanest strikes of the season and ultimately set the tone for the remainder of the match.

Dayton worked the ball around over the rest of the first half but as they generated offense in the final third of the field, getting shots on goal proved to be difficult. By halftime, the Muskies actually out-shot the Flyers 8-7 but never seriously threatened UD goalkeeper Tyler Picard. UD had more first half possession which showed in the 4-1 edge in corner kicks.

With a #1 seed and A10 season title on the line, UD was 45 minutes away from paydirt. Another goal after the restart would go a long way and take some heat off the defense. It took a few minutes for the hard work to pay off but Popella was once again Johnny on the Spot with a low-driving bullet from 18 yards out in the 59th minute to put UD up 2-0. Evan McCreary and Ryan Handbury teamed up to send a ball in the box from the left side, and the deflection bounced out for Popella’s crushing one-touch redirect.

The goal took the remaining wind out of Xavier’s sails and the Flyers dominated over the last half hour of play. As good as those two goals were however, things only got better as the match continued.

Sonny Renner took a free kick along the right side from 35 yards out and sent it far post where Torda tattooed a header from 5 yards away to the other side of the goal for the 3-0 lead. It was a picture-perfect setup and finish in a match that showcased two exceptional scores earlier on.

Not to be outdone, senior Ryan Hartman scored his first goal of the season with an incredible chip to the upper 90 of the far right post from 35 yards out to make it 4-0 in the 90th minute. David Beckham would have trouble striking a better ball from distance.

Dayton nearly made it 5-0 in the final second of the match with a half-volley finish inside the box as the whistle sounded, but the assistant referee raised his flag for offsides. UD outshot XU 16-12 and finished with a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.

Dayton didn’t manufacture a ton of chances, but capitalized on their best scoring opportunities of the night with impeccable execution. Despite Xavier’s lack of talent and playmaking, UD’s scores would have held up against nearly any foe on Friday evening. The players rewarded Head Coach Dennis Currier with a Gatorade bath after the match to celebrate the title.

Senior midfielder Ben Murray has turned into an animal over the last several matches, seizing control of the entire midfield with relentless hustle and quickness to jumpstart the Dayton offense and win possession of loose balls. Popella has stepped up big-time in place of starting forward Isaac Kissi who’s nursing an arm/shoulder injury. The senior from nearby Carroll HS has the same kind of size and strength to push bodies around and cause problems for opposing defenders. Defensively, the Flyers have shored up a lot of things since the beginning of the year. No longer are they as susceptible to the quick counter-attack and overall shape in the back line has been excellent. Picard has been a rock in front of the net all season.

Overall, there are no superstars on the roster, but there’s a large collection of players that work well as a team and a big senior class to provide quality leadership. Dayton is also one of the tallest teams in soccer and that size makes a difference when the field deteriorates or the competition stiffens. Better yet, UD is playing their best soccer of the year and showing great form. This is when you want your team peaking and Currier has timed things perfectly.

UD continues to build an NCAA at-large resume and earning the #1 seed in the conference is a nice card to play come selection time. Not in UD’s favor is a weak schedule, but Dayton is peaking at the right time and a win over SBU to close out the regular season is the next challenge. If UD wins that match and gets to the A10 tournament finals, they can probably feel good about their at-large chances. Some might argue their chances are even better than that already, but with only 48 teams in the men’s NCAA tournament field, all teams have a smaller margin for error. Winning the A10 tournament would earn the Flyers an automatic bid for the second year in a row.