DAYTON (OH) — Andres Acevedo picked a convenient time to turn on the jets. His arching run beyond the last Incarnate Word defender and subsequent blast from 18 yards out completed the improbable comeback on an improbable evening of UD men’s soccer, topping the UIW Cardinals 3-2 in 2OT Friday evening at Baujan Field.

Down 2-1 with 10 minutes remaining in regulation, UD scored late to push the match to extra time, then found paydirt with 3 minutes remaining to preserve their unbeaten and untied record — the only program in D-I still holding that distinction. Dayton improves to 10-0-0, while UIW falls to 3-4-0.

It took fans about 90 seconds after kickoff to realize Incarnate Word was the best opponent to visit Baujan Field all season — and perhaps in a couple seasons. Gifted with excellent first touches, vision, tactics, and soccer IQ, Incarnate Word moved the ball around with the precision of a German rail time table in the opening minutes of the first half.

The Flyers were chasing and a step late to most of the action — including the important 50/50 balls in the middle third of the field. Dayton did battle back however and found some better form in the following 10 minutes. Still, possession and movement forward was a challenge for UD, while the Cardinals accomplished the same work with a fluid dynamism that gave purpose to every touch of the ball.

The run of play favored UIW 60/40 for much of the first half as they opened up tons of room in the center circle, helped in part by winning nearly all of the high-ball headers from free kicks, punts, and long balls over the top. Unable to win the first ball, Dayton was back-pedaling for long stretches as they retreated to protect the defensive half of the pitch. When the Flyers did have possession, first touches oftentimes let them down — many hospital balls were picked off and used to counter-attack the Flyer defense.

Sporting excellent speed, Incarnate played even quicker by one-touching most of their passes to teammates in a great position to carry forward with pace. The Flyers were relegated to three-touch passes and never had the speed of play to be as dangerous.

Halftime stats were fairly even. UIW owned a 7-6 lead in shots while the Flyers held a 3-2 edge in corner kicks.

The second half turned completely one-sided just after the re-start as UIW picked up the pace so emphatically that it seemed like they were playing with 12 or 13 field players. Dayton was slow to every loose ball, header, and far too timid on tackles in the midfield.

Dayton looked completely out of sorts but made up for it in a big way in the 54th minute when defender Christopher Lenning polished off an Abe Keller corner kick to put UD up 1-0. Once again, Dayton’s bread and butter (set pieces) allowed the Flyers to cash in, but given the overall run of play leading up the goal, it would take a small miracle to hold the Cardinals scoreless over the next 35 minutes.

As the second half progressed, UIW got even better while the Flyers started falling apart. The run of play was almost entirely in UIW’s favor. Clear domination in every phase of the match included loose balls, headers, tackling, one-touch passing, weak-side balls, tactics, and hustle.

The Cardinals tied the match at 1-1 in the 65th minute on a nice cross to the far right post to an attacking player left un-marked. The relatively easy header to the opposite post left goalkeeper Chris Froschauer in a bad spot and unable to do much to stop it.

From there, Dayton more or less beached itself like the Costa Concordia. Listing to one side and abandoning ship, Incarnate did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, however they chose to do it. The relentless possession, organization, and acres of free space in the middle third of the field helped put the Cardinals up 2-1 in the 73rd minute on a shot from 18 yards out.

Not only were the Flyers down 2-1 — putting them in the unfamiliar position of competing from a deficit — there was hardly any worthy soccer left in their legs to mount a comeback and score the equalizer. Dayton was on the ropes and taking haymakers.

While chances were few and far between on offense, UD only needed one well-executed sequence to tie the score. Fortunately, they got it in the 81st minute with a cross into the box that took turns being flicked off the head of Maik Schoonderwoerd and then Greg Enstone to even the game at 2-2.

That’s not to say UD upped their level of play however. In the 10 minutes fore- and aft of the equalizer, it was Dayton’s worst form of the second half. Incarnate bludgeoned the Flyers by connecting the dots with crisp passing and running past Dayton midfielders like they were standing still. With a lot of luck and perseverance, UD managed to push the game into extra time.

UIW out-shot UD 11-7 in the second half, while corner kicks favored UD 2-1.

The first OT was all UIW. The Flyers were gassed and on the few occasions they won a loose ball, they quickly coughed up possession with a bad touch, errant pass, or dis-possession altogether. Only a few Hail Marys’ from the Church of the Immaculate Conception kept the score dead-locked, forcing a second and final overtime. The Cardinals out-shot Dayton 3-1 in the first OT.

Dayton appeared content to settle for the tie, and given the run of play over the first 100 minutes, such a result would be considered highly respectable. With the Flyers choosing not to use subs off the bench to supply fresh legs on the field, UD continued to suffer mightily in the speed and fitness department. Dayton’s tank was beyond fumes and forward progress was contingent upon coasting downhill. Incarnate looked fresh and lively however, running off the ball and attacking the Flyer back line at every chance.

Perhaps only one Flyer player remaining on the field had the juice to take on a defender and make something happen. Senior Andres Acevedo — subbed out earlier in the second half after taking a nasty spill — was back in the game and playing up top as a target forward. He had breakaway speed, and the work ethic to actually exploit it, but could his teammates put him in the right situation to take advantage?

Yes.

With just three minutes remaining in the second OT, Amass Amankona knocked a ball out in front of the Rego Park, NY, native and took Acevedo off the proverbial leash. Using his elite speed, he pushed past the last defender, took a couple touches, and blasted a shot from 18 yards out that found the back of the net and gave the Flyers the improbable yet dramatic 3-2 victory.

Dayton was out-played, out-hustled, out-muscled, out-coached, and out-witted for nearly 107 minutes of play, but the run of play matters not when the scoreboard says otherwise. Soccer is a finicky sport — you can dominate and lose or get clobbered and end up victorious. The bad news is Dayton was out-classed in every metric of style points, but the good news is they somehow found a way to win a match they probably didn’t deserve.

That said, UIW was an extremely talented team — perhaps the best opponent fans have seen at Baujan Field in several seasons. While they don’t pass the name-brand test, nor the national-ranking test, they played a nearly flawless game and were high-class in nearly every phase of soccer. It’s hard to execute much better and still lose. Credit goes to Dayton’s back line however for coming up huge on a number of critical defensive stops late in the match — several tackles and clears effectively extended the game and gave the Flyers a chance. As ineffective as Dayton was all match, they beat a very good team.

There’s much to learn from tonight’s match and many lessons are sure to be gained. The Flyers are taking every opponents’ best shot, and while UD is talented and experienced, they still need to play their best to beat good teams. Tonight, they were fortunate. But it also appears Dayton is suffering from serious fatigue after a long September grind with little downtime. With just one match this weekend, some time off will serve the Flyers well.

Dayton remains at home to face George Washington next weekend at Baujan Field, looking to protect their perfect record.