It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The Temple Owls, perennial losers in 2000 who haven’t found a way to win against practically anybody, gave the Dayton Flyers everything they could handle Sunday afternoon at Baujan Field. In a game that saw a little of everything, UD fought back from a 2-1 deficit and won the game in the first minute of the second overtime period off a cross from Joe Appel that R.J. Kaszuba put away to seal the win. The Flyers improve to 10-3 (5-1) on the season, while Temple drops their third overtime game of the year and best chance for a major upset.

Most of the game was played in the air as ball possession never materialized for both sides. On those few occasions when the teams pieced together a few combinations on the turf, it wasn’t long before a bad pass or errant touch disrupted the play and forced the ball into the air again. Despite this however, things started off well for Dayton. R.J. Kaszuba cleaned up a cross in the box to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the game. Fans expected more goals but it didn’t happen as Temple scrapped and clawed their way through the first half, gaining confidence as the contest wore on. The Owls had a couple opportunities of their own, but Temple never developed them enough to get a shot on goal and test UD goalkeeper Matt Hutchins. Halftime came with Dayton holding on to a 1-0 advantage.

The second half was a chance for either side to take control of the game, but the same problems that plagued the first half never went away for either team. Temple played physical in the midfield and pushed the Flyers around at times, causing problems for Dayton’s crisp attack that fans have come to expect. The Owls were hoping to capitalize on a Dayton mistake sometime in the second half to even up the scoreboard and steal the game. That’s exactly what happened as miscommunication between the UD goalkeeper and a Flyer defender resulted in a backpass that slipped past everyone for a Flyer own goal. With the score tied a 1-1, Temple had the break they needed and put the pressure on to come away with the major upset.

It looked like that was going to happen when the Owls headed a cross over the outstretched hands of Matt Hutchins to take a 2-1 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the match. The Temple players were buzzing with excitement and energy while the Flyers had little time to hang their heads. Dayton got a break of their own just a few minutes later however when an Owl player was whistled for a handball in the penalty box. Dayton converted the PK and the game was even again at 2-2. Both sides looked for a late goal to win it in regulation but nothing materialized.

The first overtime period was a brutal exhibition in physical play as each team pushed a shoved for every advantage. Temple defender Justin Kain, a source of complaining and questionable tackles all afternoon, dished out a cheap shot to Patrick Wirtz that left the Flyer pancaked on the turf. The collision sounded like the entire crowd at Baujan Field cracked their knuckles in unison, and, standing just a few feet away from it, I couldn’t help but feel it myself. It was a flagrant attempt to injure a player but the referee thought otherwise and awarded just a yellow card.

The rest of the first overtime found both teams blazing guns, but neither side could break the deadlock as the overtime ended. Less than a minute into the final overtime however, Joe Appel took a pass down the sideline, crossed it in the box, and R.J. Kaszuba finished it off to give the Flyers a somewhat scary 3-2 win. While the Temple players grabbed their shorts in heartened disbelief, Kaszuba Brandi-Chastained himself shirtless across the Baujan Field sod as fellow players joined him in celebration and a large sigh of relief. Kaszuba’s two-goal effort on the day earns him his second UDPride Player of the Game, with Patrick Wirtz a close second for shaking off the brutal cheap shot in the first overtime period.

The Flyers didn’t look sharp, but one has to wonder if Temple played their best ball of the year. It’s hard to determine what and where things went wrong, but Dayton has seen better days and a game such as this will probably help the team in the long run. There isn’t a single team in the Atlantic-10 conference that can or should be taken lightly, and Sunday’s contest was a gripping reminder of such reality.

Flyer midfielder Wade Fischer received a chop to the legs in the first half and never returned into the game. He wore a bandage around his knee and his status as of this writing is not yet known.