The #2 seed UD Men’s Soccer team hosted the #7 seed Davidson Wildcats on Friday evening in the 2024 A10 Tournament quarterfinals, escaping with a 1-0 victory and taking one step closer to the league’s automatic NCAA berth. Andrew Armstrong tapped home the game-winner in the 87th minute to improve UD’s record to 11-2-3 while the Wildcats end their season at 6-7-5. The victory sends UD to the A10 Tourney semifinals against the highest remaining seed not named George Mason in a match the Flyers will once again host.

Dayton entered the match after jumping 10 spots to #5 in this week’s United Soccer Coaches Top-25, the highest ranking in any major poll in program history. Much of that momentum came on the heels of 2-0 and 4-1 victories over VCU and Saint Louis last week, two wins that followed a 5-1 trouncing of Davidson in North Carolina on Oct. 26th.  The Wildcats were hoping for a better showing on Friday while the Flyers were keen on legitimizing the pollsters’ opinion — while also looking and playing like the prohibitive A10 tourney favorite.

The first half began rather lethargic as both sides chose to pace themselves with casual movement on and off the ball that resulted in un-exciting soccer.  Neither side dominated possession as the run of play swung back and forth with much of the action taking place between the goal boxes. Dayton had trouble generating an offensive push with either a numbers advantage or open space to run at defenders, while the Wildcats were happy to capitalize on numerous Flyer unforced errors to counter-attack and keep the game honest. Suffering from the yips for most of the half, the Flyers had trouble with traps, one-touches, and accurate passing that often manifested into turnovers in the central third that hampered any reliable ability to squeeze the tourniquet offensively.  A high motor has been the core team identity of 2024 but for some reason the first 45 minutes lacked the same sizzle.  To DC’s credit, the Wildcats did well when defending and maintained their shape in the back line to snuff out passing lanes and run down 50/50 balls for subsequent clearances.

UD demonstrated better form in the last 12 minutes, but the patented pace and urgency fans were accustomed to seeing just wasn’t there from enough positions on the field to make Davidson habitually uncomfortable. While UD looked like the better side and had 60% of the possession, there wasn’t much to show for it aside from a singular goal-scoring opportunity directly in front of the net that was blocked near the goal line.  Aside from that, other scoring chances felt more like half-chances at best as windows to shoot on target were few and far between.

First half stats favored UD in shots 8-1 and corner kicks 3-1, but those numbers were misleading compared to the run of play as moments of dynamic dangerousness were often hard to come by.

Looking to regroup, Head Coach Dennis Currier’s squad followed up halftime with a much better showing in the final 45 minutes.  Faster pace won more loose-ball challenges, leading to more possession and extended periods of defensive bunkering by the Wildcats.  Able to lob more balls in the box and challenge on the touch lines with dribble drives, the Flyers generated better and more plentiful scoring chances as the second half soldiered on.  Defensively, Dayton was very good and in only brief moments of DC countering did they have to scramble to clear the danger away.  Despite putting a cork in the Wildcat offense however, UD’s offense had no better success in spite of the positive turn.

The Flyers played their best soccer of the match in the last 15 minutes, tightening the screws and peppering the Davidson goal box with crosses, free kicks, and corner kicks hoping a teammate would be on the end of one for the important redirected finish.  Those chances came and went and as the match entered the 85th minute, Davidson appeared happy to hold the line, take few chances, and play for overtime where something fluky might take place to earn the massive upset.  UD never quit however and persistence finally paid off on the 87th minute when freshman Andrew Armstrong redirected a corner kick at the far post that slipped past Wildcat GK Lucas Beltran for the dramatic game-winner. The Flyers salted the remaining two minutes away to end Davidson’s season and live to fight another day and another tournament round.

Second half stats underscored the better soccer from the Flyers as UD outshot DC 13-1 including 8-1 from the corner flags.  Flyer goalkeeper Dario Caetano wasn’t credited with a save in the match, headlined by the excellent work of his defensive back line.

It was far from Dayton’s best performance and nothing like the 5-1 drubbing they pasted on the Wildcats a few weeks ago in the Carolinas, but they did dominate the boxscore and took another step closer to NCAA tournament status — whether by the automatic bid or at-large invitation.  Most of the trouble on Friday night fell heavily on the pace of play where urgency and tempo were decidedly absent for large stretches of the game.  Speed, athleticism, and relentless pressure has been Dayton’s difference-maker all season but wasn’t quite where it needed to be in the A10 Quarterfinals.  The Flyers survived nonetheless but it wasn’t easy and some late-game heroics were needed to avoid the possible early tourney exit.

The #2 Flyers will host an A10 Tourney semifinal match versus the highest remaining seed aside from top-seed George Mason on Wednesday, November 13th.  Those matchups will be ironed out on Saturday after two more A10 quarterfinals are decided. Win or lose, UD should be a lock for the NCAA Tournament as their Top-10 RPI and Top-25 wins/ties vs. West Virginia, Indiana, Western Michigan, and UMass should be at-large worthy credentials.

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