The UD Men’s Soccer team stepped out of conference play for a marquee non-con matchup against #1 West Virginia on Tuesday evening at Baujan Field — an opportunity to secure a program-defining victory on the national stage.  The Mountaineers had enough firepower to derail UD’s upset chances, but the Flyers had other ideas.  Three first half goals gave Dayton a huge halftime cushion as Dennis Currier’s squad finished the job in the second half for a 5-1 thrashing of the nation’s #1 team.  The Flyers improve to 6-2-3 (1-1-2) while WVU drops their first match of the season and fall to 8-1-3 (3-0-1).

In what’s likely a program first for Dayton, the Flyers played host to the #1 team in the United Soccer Coaches poll after WVU took over this week’s top spot in the Top-25 rankings.  The squads have traded home matches for the last several years, culminating in a competitive series showcasing high-level soccer.  Tonight was an opportunity for Dayton to make some history and course-correct after a pair of disappointing outcomes against UMass and Fordham.

The first five minutes of the match were a bit uneasy however as WVU wasted no time controlling possession and pushing forward into the attacking half of the field.  Dayton was a step slow and surrendered real estate that ultimately resulted in Mountaineer corner kicks that forced Dayton to clear dangerous balls out of the goal box. As play continued however, UD found some rhythm and finally pushed forward with attacking opportunities of their own. While the Mountaineers still controlled 70% of the possession, UD was really good at quick counter-attacks that helped mitigate the lopsided ball control.

The tenor of the match flipped for good in the 17th minute when Joseph Melto Quiah slotted a ball past the Mountaineer goalkeeper to give the Flyers an important 1-0 lead and some much-needed confidence.  From there, Dayton started to believe and began playing like a team possessed to find a way to make up for a couple less-than-stellar results over the last 10 days.  The Flyers leveraged their best asset — speed — and turned the dial up to 11 in Spinal Tap fashion with relentless ball pursuit and fast transitions from defense to offense.  West Virginia suddenly had a match on their hands and while they still found pockets of success as the first half continued, UD had better moments and more of them where it counted — around the opposing goal box.

Martin Bakken doubled the Dayton lead to 2-0 in the 22nd minute on a rebound in the box.  The #1 team from the hollers of Morgantown were suddenly in deep trouble with a slipping margin for error if they had any plans of escaping SW Ohio with any points.  Their struggle became a full-blown nightmare in the 37th minute when Felix Buabeng rocketed a shot off the far left post that bounced in and pushed the lead to 3-0.  That’s how the half ended but there were other chances to tack on even more goals that never panned out. Over the last half hour of the first half it was a master class exhibition of the power of speed and athleticism.

Halftime stats were dead even at six shots and four corner kicks a piece.  All that mattered however were the Flyer finishes in the net.

Surely the Mountaineers would re-assess and deliver an elevated performance in the second half to throw a scare into Dayton — that’s how these matches tend to go when taking on national title contenders.  While the three-goal lead was comfortable, things weren’t signed, sealed, and delivered just yet.  Melto Quiah changed that in the 51st minute by converting a penalty kick to give UD an improbable 4-0 cushion with less than 4o minutes remaining. Unless the Flyers fell asleep at the yoke, this plane was going to land safely.

Much of the second half play favored Dayton once again.  WVU struggled all night to contain the Flyers’ pursuit of the ball.  Like a swam of bees, UD conceded nothing anywhere on the field and tag-teamed loose balls with high-energy tackles, poke-aways, and full dispossessions to redirect the flow of the game in their favor.  In short, Dayton played like the match was still scoreless and up for grabs and this mindset was as much a factor in the dominance as the individual moments that found the back of the net.

WVU scrapped back with a goal in the 67th minute on a nice header in front of Flyer GK Dario Caetano to trim the Dayton lead to 4-1.  Technically the game not over and the Mountaineers had enough talent to pull off a comeback for the ages, but UD would have none of it and added an insurance goal in the 84th minute when Cooper Lijewski knocked a ball in from the left side of the box to make it 5-1 and finish off the scoring. And yet it could have been 6-1 with some better luck in the last five minutes.

Second half stats favored UD in shots 10-4 while WVU edged UD 2-1 in corner kicks.

The Mountaineers had surrendered no more than two goals in any prior match this season, while the Flyers entered the contest leading the nation in shots per game. Something had to give and it was UD’s potent and speedy attacking style that proved to be the difference.  Dayton’s back line was outstanding however and deserves equal praise for limiting WVU’s chances and playing extremely clean soccer in their defensive third.  The defenders were confident on the ball, organized, and did well to find mids and forwards to play service out of the back once they collected possession and reset.

Tuesday’s result was a program-defining victory as UD had never previously beaten a #1 ranked team. The final score wasn’t necessarily predictable but with so much parity in men’s soccer it often comes down to nightly performances that can and do determine outcomes within those slim margins.  The Flyers possess certain tangibles that cannot be coached and can only be recruited — namely speed and athleticism.  Speed kills and it by and large undid WVU for 75 minutes with wave after wave of loose-ball challenges.  The Mountaineers ultimately died of asphyxia from lack of time and space to breathe.  There are times when UD looks impossible to stop and those matches are when shots are on target. When the Flyers have stumbled, it’s been those other nights when UD had trouble putting numerous shots on frame.

Dayton travels to Olean, NY, for a match against St. Bonaventure on Saturday October 19th.

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