The UD Men’s Soccer team returned to the pitch after a two-week layoff by hosting the George Washington Revolutionaries on Saturday evening at Baujan Field.  The sabbatical had no effect on UD’s level of play as Dennis Currier’s squad shredded GW 7-1 with the help of a Martin Bakken hat trick. The Flyers improve to 5-1-2 (1-0-1) while GW falls to 2-8-1 (0-3-0).

Dayton wasted no time jumping all over GW as the match got underway. Leveraging their relentless attacking posture and superior pace, UD put instant pressure on GW’s back line and found the back of the net just five minutes after kickoff when Joseph Melto Quiah finished a cross at the far post to give the Flyers an early 1-0 advantage.  The next 15 minutes were dominated by the Flyers both in possession and attacking opportunities, highlighted by a consistent pursuit of the ball in the offensive half of the field.  The pressure wore the Revs down as they surrendered shots and corner kicks when unable to manufacture any decent possession and move the ball out of their defensive third.  UD scored in the 23rd and 24th minutes to extend the lead to 3-0 and take firm command of the match.  The second goal came after GW’s goalkeeper stoned a point-blank shot by the Flyers but couldn’t clean up the deflection inside the six yard box. The latter score culminated from excellent buildup in the midfield that took advantage of several outstanding touches in tight quarters to free up Martin Bakken for the finish.

The Flyer pressure continued for the remainder of the half as GW found little success winning 50/50 balls or pushing forward with purposeful intention. There were few meaningful chances to beat Flyer GK Dario Caetano.  The Revs’ best opportunities came on a bevy of corner kicks, but the Flyers did well to clear the trouble away to keep a clean sheet as the half wore on.  Bakken added a second goal in the 31st minute to round out the first half scoring.

Halftime stats were 14-6 in shots while GW edged out Dayton in corner kicks 5-4.

The second half was more of the same. While the match was already decided, UD continued to slam the gas pedal to the floorboard and concede no breathing room.  The Revs were awarded a PK in the 65th minute but Caetano came up with the diving save to his right; he couldn’t secure the ball however and a redirect found the net to trim the Flyer lead to 4-1.  Dayton quickly got it back in the 71st minute when Geni Kanyane knocked a shot off the right post to extend the lead to 5-1.  Andrew Armstrong finished a beautiful header off a corner kick in the 73rd minute, while Bakken added his third and final goal just four minutes later to push the rout to 7-1.  Dayton had numerous chances to tack on a couple more goals over the last 15 minutes — a sign of good team chemistry to play a full 90 minutes regardless of the score — but just missed on a couple terrific chances at the near and far posts.

Second half stats were 13-6 in shots and 6-3 in corner kicks. Overall shots on goal were 12-5 — finishing 7 of 12 chances on frame was an efficient evening of work for the Flyer offense. Other than the PK sequence, UD’s back line once again bottled up the opposing offense and benefited from mostly clean touches and smart decision-making in the defensive third.

UD’s calling card responsible for the success continues to be a torrid pace of play at all positions of the field. Opposing teams are struggling mightily to adjust and counter Dayton’s ability to transition from defense to offense in the blink of an eye.  Whether working in tight spaces with combination play or sending weak-side balls to attacking players running direct, Dayton is showcasing better athletes and more physicality alongside smart soccer and tactics.  It’s a tough squad to defend because everyone possesses similar skill sets and can hurt you in different ways at different moments of the match.  It’s been a team effort all year and UD’s strongest flex is a unit that’s playing greater than the sum of the parts.

Dayton travels to RV-UMass on Wednesday October 9th for a conference matinee’.  Kickoff is 3pm EDT.

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