Sometimes how you start isn’t the way you finish. Ten minutes into the match, it wasn’t looking good for the Dayton Flyers. Already down 1-0, UD looked lethargic against #6 Virginia, one of the top programs in the country. And it wasn’t getting any better. Virginia can do that to a lot of good programs, but Dayton wasn’t putting up a fight. Unable to win loose balls or establish any sort of possession, the Cavaliers looked like rabbits while the Flyers looked like a three-toed sloth getting ready for a nap. Enter sophomore walk-on Stacy Palumbo. She came into the match mid-way through the first half and gave life to Dayton, hustling everywhere and showing no fear at the chance of making a mistake. She showed creativity, won a few loose balls — the first of the match for Dayton — and suddenly her teammates decided to follow her lead. The Flyers stepped up soon thereafter and cashed in on a Jen Simonetti header just before halftime, then dug deep into the tank for a hard-fought 1-1 tie after two overtimes before a much appreciative and enthusiastic crowd of 1,053 Flyer Faithul — Dayton’s second straight crowd of over 1,000 fans. The Flyer record now stands at 3-0-1 while Virginia stands at 2-1-1.

Before Palumbo’s entrance however, the Flyers looked gassed to start the match as Virginia opened the game with intense pressure on the Flyer goal. The Cavaliers looked sharp, but Dayton did themselves no favors either. Hospital balls littered the field, players stood around waiting for teammates to shovel the load, and all things considered, looked nothing like vintage Dayton soccer. Virginia hit paydirt early when they depossessed Dayton in the defensive third of the field, took a 2 on 1 on goal, and beat freshman goalkeeper Sarah West to the near post for the first score of the game in the 7th minute. Everybody was struggling, even the disciplined back line for Dayton. UD conceded the field and didn’t apply pressure to UVA attackers until they approached 25yds from goal. What the heck was going on?

Unless someone took it upon themselves to step up and rejuvenate things, it was going to be a long day. The Flyers weren’t putting up a fight and needed a spark — any spark. And Stacy Palumbo obliged.

Palumbo arrived midway through the first half and added the blue-collar effort Dayton desperately needed. More importantly however, it rubbed off on everyone else. Palumbo changed the match for good. Not long after her entrance, Dayton pieced together some good possession and pushed forward. Beth McHugh had no trouble out-legging her mark on the right side and she too helped juice Dayton’s offense. A little later Tesia Kozlowski nailed a header off a beautiful cross that needed a diving save and a friendly Virginia bounce off the post to keep the game 1-0 in favor of UVA. Just a minute later however Dayton crossed an equally nice ball in the box that junior Jen Simonetti headed into the goal to tie the match at 1-1 in the 41st minute. Simonetti switched from defender to midfielder just minutes before the goal. And in a span of 15 minutes of play, UD went from positively ugly to downright tough. Halftime came and with the score deadlocked at 1-1, things were actually looking positive. If that’s the best Virginia could play, UD was going to win the match because the first half was anything but Dayton’s best.

While Virginia kicked it up a notch in the second half, so did Dayton. The Cavaliers continued to apply consistent pressure on the Dayton goalmouth, but the Flyers were hustling and annoying UVA’s attacking players as the venerable Dayton D held tough like they have so many times before. The Cavaliers almost added a second goal but goalkeeper Sarah West — who ended up playing all 110 minutes of the match — made a couple nice stops and sophomore defender Jacqueline Luehrs cleared a ball off the line. Soon Virginia started spraying shots everywhere — perhaps pressing a bit because of Dayton’s composure in the back line. Towards the end of regulation, the Flyers pushed the ball forward and had a couple of nice chances of their own, but neither side could find the go-ahead score before overtime.

The first overtime was competitive but Virginia had the better play. Dayton once again dug deep and with some great hustle defensively, kept the score knotted a 1-1. The second overtime favored Dayton. The Flyers earned two corner kicks and had three shots in the final overtime — especially in the last two minutes of play — but to their own credit, Virginia toughed it out and turned away UD’s scoring chances. After 110 minutes of action, Dayton earned a very respectable 1-1 tie against a Cavalier team that will win a lot of matches this year. For the match, UVA outshot UD 20-6 while corner kicks were even at four a piece. West made eight saves for Dayton while UVA’s Anne Abernathy made one save.

Along with the aforementioned Palumbo, the entire back line — Leah Phelps and Erin Showalter in particular — stepped it up in the second half and two overtimes, along with the midfielders. Katie Lowstuter used her foot skills in the midfield to keep Virginia honest when Dayton had possession too.

Sunday’s match had a little bit of everything. Dayton started as cold as ice and looked uninterested in putting up a fight. A key sub comes in and changes the Flyer attitude. A defender moves to midfielder and finds the equalizer — her second goal of the season. And the Flyers rediscover the blue-collar work ethic that has defined the program for so many years. What it all means is UD put yet another feather in their cap for a postseason at-large birth into the NCAA Tournament. For the players, a tie might feel like a cheap parting gift, but it shouldn’t. If anything it should be the highlight of the season so far — which should be even more satisfying in light of the rough start to the match. It took a while for UD to convince themselves that they belonged on the same field with Virginia, and though Virginia unquestionably has the more talented side, Dayton eventually demonstrated more than enough talent to pick off a Top-10 program. With two wins and a tie against three potential NCAA teams so far, Dayton is in good shape at 3-0-1 on the year and should have all the confidence they need next week as they venture to South Carolina to take on #17 Clemson and a tough Furman program. Dayton is good enough to win both matches and if they get off to a good start in each, will be in great shape as long as they don’t forget what ultimately earned them a tie against Virginia.