The #2 seed UD women’s soccer team hosted #3 UMass in the A10 Tournament semifinals at Baujan Field on Wednesday evening, falling 2-1 after surrendering the game-winning goal in the final two minutes of the match.  The win punches the Minutewomen’s ticket to the A10 Championship game on Sunday at #1 Saint Louis.   The Flyers fall to 14-4-2 and are likely out of contention for an NCAA at-large berth, a disappointing end that would draw the season to a close. UMass marches on and improves to 13-4-3 with both the automatic bid still in play and a moderately better RPI than the Flyers to perhaps stay in the at-large conversation.

Steady rain throughout the morning and afternoon let up in time for the evening kickoff as field conditions were very good in spite of the moisture and occasionally slippery grass.  The contest was a rematch of a hotly-contested 3-2 Dayton victory in Amherst in mid-October that was evenly competitive and drama-filled.  With higher stakes on the line on Wednesday, more of the same was expected and fans got what they wanted — sort of.  It didn’t take long for UMass to assert itself and take firm control, utilizing a decisive speed and quickness advantage to win loose balls, link passes, and exploit open-field targets pushing forward into the offensive half of the field. The Flyers were a step slow everywhere — less from a lack of effort and more from genetics  — that would be difficult to overcome as the match continued.  The Minutewomen pressed well and forced the Flyers to do lots of defending; when UD did gather possession and attempt to counter, only 2-3 passes were linked up before the closure speed and quick feet of the opposition poked the ball away or cleanly stole possession.

UMass found the net to go up 1-0 in the 14th minute after GK Batoul Reda — recently named 2nd Team A10 —  stopped a dangerous shot on frame that squibbed back into the mixer.  UM collected the loose ball and blasted it into an open net to put the Flyers in early trouble.  From there, Dayton tried countering to find the equalizer but it was a painstaking process of trial, error, and often failure. UD bogged down in the final third, unable to separate from defenders to get clean looks on frame.  UD’s best chance came on a redirect inside the six yard box that was blocked by a terrific save from UM goalkeeper Bella Mendoza. Not to be outdone, Reda made a diving save to the left corner later in the half that was pegged for the upper-90 but stopped with a clean, out-stretched, two-handed save to prevent UD from falling behind even further.  While neither team ran up the stats and the the vitals were relatively even, UMass dominated the eye test over the last 20 minutes of the first half while the Flyers did most of the chasing.  In desperate need of some speed on the pitch, Head Coach Eric Golz went to perhaps is only sure thing in Maddie Bowman just before intermission.  She delivered soon after entering the match by beating her defender baseline and sending a low cross inside the 6yd line that ricocheted off a UMass defender and squibbed into the net for an own-goal in the 43rd minute.  Dayton had some help on the sequence but it was once again Bowman’s ability to create something out of nothing in a 1 vs 1 situation that forced the play and led to something good.

First half stats favored UD in shots 8-4 while UMass took the only corner kick.  Regardless, UMass got the better of the Flyers and UD was fortunate to be tied at intermission.

The second half played out in similar fashion as the first 45 minutes. The Minutewomen continued to showcase a speed advantage in most parts of the field and that caused the tactically sound but methodical, ball-control style of Dayton to lose their timing and ability to find open teammates off the ball.  When passes were made, gaps closed before additional combination play could develop. Movement away from the ball was also challenging at times and that afforded UMass opportunities to pick off poor service and counter quickly to the touch lines where players were often unmarked from the transitional play.   Junior defender Kyra Karfonta — recently named 1st Team A-10 — was extremely busy at left fullback (too busy in fact) and spent much of her evening chasing defenders to the corner flag and denying service into the box. While a couple balls got past her, she leveled up time and again with denials and outright dispossessions, then figured out ways to generate a clearance to snuff out the danger. It was impressive 1 vs 1 island defending and one of the few matchups all night where UMass’ speed didn’t hurt the Flyers.

Karfonta nearly put the Flyers in the lead mid-way through the second half but her free kick from 25yds caromed off the crossbar. Bowman beat three defenders near the left corner of the box a short time later with a bulldozer effort that resulted in a deflected shot destined for the near post.  Quality scoring chances were few and far between however as Noel Blain, Bre Mendoza, and Liv Grenda lacked pace to pressure in the top third of the field and force mistakes or run down long-ball service and dribble-drive something against a retreating defender.  Fifth-year senior midfielder Diana Benigno — also named 1st Team A10 — couldn’t shake loose in the central third, command a physical presence, and be that much-needed conduit from the back line to the forwards. It wasn’t just her however that struggled with 50/50 balls and tackling — it was a team-wide issue and UMass often took full advantage.  When the Flyers did have space to counter, they often stutter-stepped their way upfield rather than dribbling hard into defenders and attempted to blow past into open space.  As the final 10 minutes of regulation neared, the match felt like “next goal wins” even if it required extra time.   UMass capitalized on a sloppy defensive sequence directly in front of the Flyer goal box that resulted in a redirect past Reda in the 89th minute to send the ladies from Amherst into the A10 Championship match and effectively end the Flyers’ season.

UD led in second half shots 5-4 while corner kicks favored UMass 3-2.

It was a difficult and disappointing loss for the Flyers after securing the home field advantage through the A10 semifinals and bettering UMass in the regular season match earlier in the year.  Dayton has tried mightily in recent years to track down perennial A10 favorite Saint Louis and knock them off their conference perch, but Wednesday’s setback once again delays that goal for at least another season.  To their credit, UMass was the decisively better side and deserved to advance to face the Billikens for the automatic berth; they probably match up better against SLU as well because they can better neutralize the Bill’s speed and strength.  Those qualities were UD’s nemesis for much of the year and when facing squads with faster players — Xavier, Saint Louis, VCU, and Fordham among others.  It typically caused problems with no good solutions and while Dayton sometimes found ways around the problem, it was a problem that couldn’t be fixed with more practice or training. Speed can’t be coached.  At 14-4-2, it remains a solid 2024 campaign and by most standards that would be good enough, but there’s no hiding from the tradition-rich history of conference titles and NCAA appearances and once again falling short of those goals will sting in the offseason. At #50 in the RPI before tonight’s loss, UD is unlikely to receive an at-large invitation.

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