Black Friday is now officially over at the University of Dayton. With expectations for the fall sports season as high as they’ve been in years, UD went 0-4 Friday night and have Flyer fans scratching their head. While the UD womens soccer team took a 4-1 loss to Oregon State and the Volleyball team dropped two matches in the MSU Volleyball Classic, the mens soccer team fell 1-0 to Virginia Tech on a goal with 14 seconds left in regulation before a strong crowd for the season opener at Baujan Field. We’ll leave the recaps of the other matches to those who saw them firsthand, but UDPride was on hand for the match against the Hokies and will attempt to explain things.

The Flyers actually started off great and put the clamps on Virginia Tech in the first 15 minutes of the game. With the Hokies giving fouls in the midfield to slow down the Dayton attack, UD put several balls in the box and made the visitors make the first saves of the game. With a starting lineup consisting of faces like Joe Hall, Dan Thomas, Chris Rolfe, and others, Coach Schureck definitely had a new look to his team compared to last year. And in the beginning, it was working just fine. Once things settled down however, VT began piecing together combinations in the midfield as well as overlaps down the flank. Both teams had a couple good chances to score — looks at the goal that are as good as they get — but each goalkeeper came up huge and the squads finished out the half playing even ball.

Fans were looking for the typical second half surge we saw all of last season, but it wasn’t in the cards as Tech took it to the Flyers for most of the final 45 minutes. Picked to finish 12th among 13 teams in the Big East this year, the Hokies were flat out getting it done against Dayton. Though they finished 8-9-2 in 2000, Tech looked every bit the better team as the game wound down. The Hokies had several chances to get on the scoreboard but several breakaway goals — certain goals — were thwarted by Flyer GK Matt Hutchins every time. Whether it was a desparate kick save, a one-on-one charge from the goalmouth, or a fist punch in the box, Hutchins single-handedly kept Dayton in a scoreless tie with a chance to win. Nobody who saw the match will argue with Hutchins’ nomination for the UDPride Player of the Game.

Both teams traded a flurry of corner kicks late in the game, but neither side could negotiate the ball past the defense. With thirty seconds remaining however, the Hokies brought the ball upfield with players streaking toward goal. The ball ended up in the mixer and squirted to the weak side where Fred Silva finished off an easy one from 13yds out with just 14 seconds remaining in regulation. It was a disheartening goal and tough way to lose a season opener at home, especially since the Flyers completed the 2000 home schedule without a blemish. If the truth be told however — and at UDPride it always is — the Hokies deserved to win. Aside from Hutchins’ great play, sophomore Dan Thomas cleared a goal off the end line and stole the ball from a breakaway Hokie forward as he headed toward the Flyer goal with a one vs. one with Hutchins. The contest could have easily been 5-2 in favor of the Hokies.

So what went wrong Friday night on a team with four preseason 1st Team All Conference players and a wealth of talent and optimism? Ironically, the Flyers were bitten by the same snake they used to bite opponents in 2000: hustle and loose ball victories. In the second half, Tech won 85% of the challenges in the air — and that alone accounted for most of Dayton’s troubles. The Hokies gobbled up nearly every goal kick, free kick, and long ball played by a UD player and as the game wore down, it was apparent that fans were frustrated by Dayton’s inability to win a high ball and play it forward. To the Hokies’ credit however, they were quicker to loose balls on the turf as well and it was just a matter of time before the odds favored a man-down breakaway that might cost Dayton.

After one game however, it’s nearly impossible to gauge a team or its opponent. If Tech is the 12th best team in the Big East though, the conference is flat out loaded. On the other hand, Virginia Tech may be underrated and destined to finish much higher. For the Flyers, there’s more than enough talent to get it done this year. Nobody questions that — even after Friday’s disappointing loss. Perhaps the work-ethic and leadership of R.J. Kaszuba was missed, or perhaps it was just a bad day at the office. It happens.

Freshman Chris Rolfe had a solid debut and has a bright future. He played up top with Sunday Isename and has the creative tools and speed to get shots on goal. Tye Stebbins also played and will be a nice contributor all year. Dan Cerwinske did not play — perhaps due to injury. Joe Hall, a redshirt freshman, also started and has the size to score goals too.

The good news is UD gets a chance to redeem themselves Sunday afternoon against the UC Bearcats. Cincinnati was nationally-ranked as recently as two seasons ago and will be a good rebound game for the Flyers. It’s imperative for Dayton to notch an early win and return to .500. When teams dig a hole, it seems to deepen exponentially until they scratch the win column. Should the Flyers take care of business Sunday, it will take a lot of the sting out of Friday night’s defeat.