CINCINNATI (OH) — The Cincinnati Bearcats spoiled the 2002 debut of the Dayton Flyers, scrapping and hustling their way to a 2-1 victory in front of a Bearcat home crowd Sunday afternoon at Meyers Field. The Flyers drop to 0-1 on the season while UC gets off to the good start at 1-0.

The Flyers started the game with a much different lineup than fans saw in 2001 as freshmen Dasan Robinson, Brennan Randquist, and George Nanchoff took the field, along with redshirt freshmen Jesse Faily and GK Steve Ladislaw. A young team no doubt, and it didn’t help that starting forward Chris Rolfe wasn’t in action, possibly from a one-game suspension for summer ball that didn’t meet the approval of the pinheads at the NCAA. Whatever the reason, things never fell in place for the Flyers and the fact that UC plays on newly installed fake Bermuda grass — the same turf many cold climate football teams are opting for — appeared to quicken an already fast pace that Dayton wasn’t ready for.

Cincinnati controlled much of the first half and had a pair of quality scoring chances that UD cleaned up with clearing headers. The Bearcats were putting pressure on the Dayton goal however and UD wasn’t returning the favor. Offensively, the Flyers produced little in the way of scoring opportunities and never even challenged Bearcat GK Sacha Nathu who directed traffic from the UC defensive side of the ball.

Dayton fell victim to a lack of communication in the 15th minute as Flyer sweeper Denny Clanton took control of the ball and moved things forward, only to be swarmed from behind by Bearcat players who dispossessed the ball and reversed the action by sending a ball down the right side of the box. The Flyers attempted to block the cross near the end line but took the UC player down in the process and gave up a penalty kick that Wiremu Patrick buried for the 1-0 advantage. Ironically, the Flyers caught a break in the 25th minute as a hand ball in the UC box gave Dayton a chance to tie the score with a penalty kick of their own. But Jesse Faily’s try was stopped by Nathu and seemed to take the wind out of the Flyer sails for the remainder of the half. Flyer GK Steve Ladislaw made a great save before the end of the half with a one-armed tip above his head that he eventually gobbled up. After 45 minutes however, it was apparent that UC was winning the hustle war and the Flyers would be hard pressed to create more scoring chances unless they took control of things in the middle of the field.

The second half started off much like the first. Cincinnati was quicker to loose balls, winning the battle in the air, and pushing the ball more efficiently down the field. Joe Hall, Christian Porto, and others tried to piece together some possession and patiently work the ball up field, but it always seemed to result in a long ball that Nathu could spear from the air and extinguish. In the 52nd minute, the Bearcats made it 2-0 on a scramble in the box after a UC cross from the right side. Dayton was in serious trouble and needed to pick up the pace.

Dayton got some energy in the 76th minute when freshman Mpoke Tenende flicked a low line drive from Michael Nsien that was headed straight on goal. The flick changed the ball’s trajectory and fooled everyone including Sacha Nathu tending the goal to cut the lead to 2-1. From there on, the Flyers were much more competitive and had a few more chances late in the game to tie it up. Jesse Faily made a great hustle play on a ball played back to the UC goalkeeper and almost redirected it into the goal. But UC never looked overmatched and all things considered, deserved the victory as they held on at the end by continuing to attack the Flyer defense.

The absence of sophomore Chris Rolfe was significant, and it appeared the Flyers could have used an exhibition or two to work out the kinks. Players weren’t always on the same page and couldn’t do enough damage in the loose ball department to take possession of the play and dictate the tempo. The artificial surface was a distinct Bearcat advantage as well. But the Flyers were playing with so many players who were receiving their college baptism and that will probably serve the team later in the year. The freshmen showed signs of quality talent and appear bigger, stronger, and more technically gifted than past incoming classes. Though they learned on the job Sunday afternoon, they’ll need to apply what they learned in the games to follow. All told, had Dayton converted the PK, the Flyers could have snuck out with a tie. Not bad for not playing well. Cincinnati waxed Wright State 6-2 in preseason action but are predicted to finish 6th in the extremely tough C-USA, so we won’t know how good UC is for a few more games.

The Flyers are back in action on Sept. 5 with a road contest at Akron. UD beat the Zips at home a year ago but Akron is always one of the top teams in Ohio. The Zips are 0-2 this year but have hard-fought losses to #6 North Carolina in overtime and ACC heavyweight Wake Forest.