A little luck can go a long way, but better players can take you farther. The Dayton Flyers scored three goals on three Hokie miscues to up-end former Atlantic-10 member Virginia Tech before 1,216 fans at Baujan Field in the nightcap of a two-game doubleheader. The Flyers did nearly everything right but put it in the back of the net, but it was more than enough to improve to 14-4 (8-1) with one win (or tie) left between the Flyers and an outright Atlantic-10 regular season title. That game will take place on Sunday in a 1pm kickoff against Geo. Washington at Baujan Field.

The Flyers came out of the gates running at full stride and put Virginia Tech on damage control just minutes into the game. Dayton moved the ball around the field without any trouble and created several superb chances inside the Hokie penalty box. It took just over three minutes for Dayton to get on the board as Melissa Buck got credit for a goal that only Hokie goalkeeper Katie Hancock could accurately describe. Hancock came out to fetch a slow-rolling ball 8yds out on the left side of the goalmouth but suffered a mental meltdown and let the ball trickle by her and eventually across the goal line for what amounted to a gift for the Flyers. Dayton was getting good looks however and failed to capitalize on at least two Blue Plate Specials that had only the goalkeeper to beat, therefore the 1-0 deficit on the goalkeeper miscue was probably the best VA Tech could have realistically asked for at intermission.

Dayton owned the entire first half and started things off in the final half on strong footing as well. More chances to score came and went, and it wasn’t until sophomore Missy Showtime Gregg fired a shot into the goal mouth in the 65th minute that deflected off a Hokie defender and ricocheted into the net that Dayton could breathe a little easier with the 2-0 lead. In the 76th minute, junior Megan McKnight fired a long ball from 25yds out that the found the far corner of the net for a 3-0 Flyer advantage. The Hokie goalkeeper, by most accounts, should have made the save, but misjudged things once again and fell into the net with the ball in-tow.

The Flyers made some substitutions as the game wore on and pulled off the dogs in the closing minutes of play. Virginia Tech had a few scoring chances late in the game, but UD goalkeeper Steph Weisenfeld was steady all night and picked off everything that threatened the goal mouth. In fact, Weisenfeld had to go to the air on several occasions to wrap up high balls sent into the box by Hokie midfielders and defenders. With Hokie strikers challenging, she was on top of everything at all times and picked off several balls that had ‘Trouble’ written on them. While other players had strong games as well, including defenders Nina DiGuardi and Megan Worley, Weisenfeld dominated in her box and never wavered all night, and justifiably deserves her second UDPride Player of the Game this season.

While all three Flyer goals had serious help from a Hokie squad that practically shot themselves in the foot, there’s no mistaking that Dayton was clearly the better team. In fact, Dayton could have — should have — scored six or seven goals on the evening and could have given up one or two as well were it not for critical plays here or there. Still, Dayton played well for most of the game and did almost everything right but finish their scoring chances. That might seem like a bad omen, but it’s actually a good one. If Dayton can create as many quality chances as they did Friday night, they will win the Atlantic-10 Tournament and be in the NCAAs again. Period. It would take a large dose of bad luck to keep the Flyers from eventually converting on all their scoring opportunities and as the weeks have elapsed, Dayton is putting more and more pressure on the goal.

The Flyers have won 12 of their last 13 games. Faithful followers who have attended most or all of the games would agree that play has been inconsistent at times this year. That’s fading however and any team that wins 12 of 13 games — including seven in a row — is obviously doing something right. What they are doing right is stepping up at the critical times and making a big play or two when it’s absolutely needed. Dayton has shown that it can play up to the competition. Strong showings against Clemson, Auburn, Rhode Island, Xavier, and UMass are indicative of this. This is a young team with a lot of talent, but growing pains were expected. Looking back however, this is turning into Head Coach Mike Tucker’s best coaching job of his career. Asking so many young players to play like starters, gel with the seniors, blend in with the juniors, and listen to the sophomores is tougher than it sounds. The Flyers are 14-4 and on the verge of another conference title. The team is improving over the last three weeks. Players are stepping up. Big games are being won. One has to be impressed with their resilience. Sometimes that’s all that separates the champions, and this team can taste it.