DAYTON (OH) — The good news is Dayton beat their local conference rival for the umpteenth time in a row, won the A10 opener, and improves to an impressive 9-1-0 (1-0). But the #18 Flyers played nothing like their national ranking in a shaky 2-1 double overtime victory over the Xavier Musketeers before 747 fans at Baujan Field. The Muskies fall to 5-4-0 (0-1).

The first five minutes of the match were everything fans could want. Dayton controlled all of the possession and pushed Xavier into a defensive posture. But the possession and run of play came so easy that the Flyers softened and never took advantage of those opportunities. Instead of dropping the hammer, UD dropped their intensity and over the next 15 minutes the Muskies started winning the loose balls.

While Dayton was superior in talent in almost every corner of the field, the lack of purpose and intensity continued to hamper Dayton’s quality scoring chances. Xavier countered with a quality attack in the 19th minute and made their only shot of the first half count with a ball to the far post from 15 yards out that caught the Flyers and Flyer goalkeeper Katherine Boone flat-footed (or screened from the ball entirely). The soft goal defied the stats thus far in the match as UD had far more scoring opportunities, but the Flyers faltered in their ability to leverage good field position into a great shot on frame.

UD earned eight corner kicks in the first half, but each time they were unable to find the ball in the air. The wasted chances continued in the field of play when tunnel vision kept Dayton from spotting open teammates with the extra pass. Unable to open the field with weak-side balls, UD also had trouble passing to players in stride. The back-tracking for balls let Xavier organize their defense and keep players in front of the ball.

While UD was down 1-0 at halftime, the bigger disappointment was the lack of intensity across the entire roster. So frustrated was Head Coach Mike Tucker, he subbed half the starting line-up midway through the first half and one of the first players sent to the pine was All-American Colleen Williams.

The benched players returned to the lineup to start the second half and fans were hoping a big speech in the locker room might jump-start a team that by and large air-mailed the first 45 minutes.

The results were hit and miss over the final half. While Dayton developed more scoring chances and more possession, they still lacked a physical presence and were too often pushed off the ball or out-legged for 50/50 balls by players smaller and less talented. Even Williams kept getting knocked off the ball by players 3 inches shorter and 15lbs lighter — players she typically sheds like Walter Payton shedding a linebacker.

To Xavier’s credit, they continued to battle and play for a result. The Flyers finally found the net in the 68th minute when Alysha Mallon’s high-quality finish tucked inside the near post from 18yds out. Now tied at 1-1, some of the pressure went away and UD began to wear XU down as the second half continued.

Scoring chances came and went however as the extra pass eluded the Flyers all night. When UD required patience they rushed things and when numbers and field position necessitated urgency the Flyers held back. Combined with XU’s ability to disrupt passes and block shots on goal with an extended boot, Dayton made easy work of the stat sheet but had all kinds of trouble making things count with high-level play.

Regulation ended with UD out-shooting Xavier 20-0 in the second half — though many of those Flyer shots were relatively weak dial-ups from long distance. That said, a half dozen were on frame and potentially game-winning. Muskie goalkeeper Katie Markesberry saved her team’s bacon on a number of occasions.

It took a cleanup by Alexis Garcia directly in front of the near post to put the match out of its misery and give the Flyers a 2-1 double overtime victory. They escaped with the win despite out-shooting Xavier 33-4 and out-cornering the Muskies 11-0. Boone did not register a save all night.

On the surface it might seem like Dayton dominated in all phases and ran into a wall of bad luck. The boxscore certainly suggests it was a lop-sided match from kick-off to golden goal game-winner. Things were completely different however. Xavier battled hard and got the most out of their abilities, but Dayton’s toughest opponent Friday evening was Dayton. It was frustrating to watch in light of UD’s strong play over the last 10 days against Ohio State and Kentucky.

On Friday however UD was content with winning and not winning the right way. On a night when the Sweet 16 team of 2001 was honored, it was a performance largely worth forgetting.

The only consistent bright spot was the play of sophomore Juliana Libertin working the flanks. Her effort was there all match and she routinely made space or beat her defender down the touch line to help Dayton get forward. Alexis Garcia had a couple quality moves in the midfield and Emily Kenyon came up with a terrific tackle in the open field that might have saved a goal. These were exceptions to the rule however and none of it slipped past the coaching staff. Dayton did just enough to win and Xavier’s defense has shown an ability to keep them in matches they had no business competing in this season. The fact remains however that Dayton’s talent dwarfs Xavier and it should have been a 4-0 or 5-1 blitzkrieg into the stone age.

UD gets back on the pitch Sunday afternoon against Oakland. It’s safe to say the Flyer coaching staff will be as anxious as the fans to see what Dayton team shows up. The nationally-ranked squad playing like a nationally-ranked beast, or Florence Nightingale?