The Flyers played their best soccer of the season on Sunday to up-end the Akron Zips by a score of 2-1 on a hot and muggy afternoon at Baujan Field. The Flyers took a 1-0 lead in the first half on a Mike Nsien goal, then added another on a penalty kick by Sunday Isename in the second half. Akron scored late to round out the scoring. The Flyers improve to 2-2 on the season and have won two in a row. Akron drops to an uncharacteristic 0-3-1 on the year, with the tie coming against defending national champion UConn in Storrs, CT.

The Zips brought a strong club to town and the Flyers were ready. The first half was arguably the best soccer so far this year for Head Coach Dave Schureck’s club as UD played team ball and worked the possession game that had been absent in prior outings. It was apparent because the Flyer midfield pieced together several combinations and helped Dayton advance an attacking style instead of one that left players on their heels. Freshman forward Chris Rolfe did a nice job of checking to passes from the midfielders and relaying the ball off to teammates, while the defense locked things up in the back and did an equally nice job of winning headers.

Mike Nsien, a perennial defender now playing forward to help ignite the Flyer offense and give a physical presence up top, got loose in the box after a ball was redirected toward the Akron goal and flicked a ball over the Zip goalkeeper that bounced off the right side post. Nsien followed his shot and shoved it home for the first score of the game and his team-leading third goal of the season. With the 1-0 lead, the Flyers looked to take control of a game for the first time this year, and for much of the 1st half Dayton did exactly that. Akron managed a few dangerous chances, but the Flyers recovered nicely and GK Matt Hutchins made a couple big saves to help UD take a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Akron picked things up as soon as the second half started however and put serious pressure on the Flyer goal mouth for the first 10 minutes. With the wind swirling overhead, neither side could tame the weather and free kicks that looked routine ended up sailing over heads and causing problems on the defensive end for both squads. Before long the contest turned into a long ball match as goalkicks and punts covered 70 yards in the air and rolled past the opposing end line. But Dayton worked hard at developing a midfield presence and accomplished more against Akron than all of the prior games combined. For the first time, the strength of the team started making a difference and without it, the chances are Akron could have and would have found a way to win.

The game grew more physical as the second half wore on and the referee began booking Akron players with yellow cards every couple of minutes. The Flyers weren’t spared either, but the Zips were clearly frustrated and couldn’t harness it to their own advantage. Dayton made Akron pay in the 62nd minute when the Zips were whistled for tripping in the box — a call that was a no-brainer by the referee. The Akron goalkeeper got a significant piece of Sunday Isename’s penalty shot, but couldn’t keep it from rolling into the nets for a 2-0 Flyer lead.

Dayton eased up on the gas a bit in the final 20 minutes and the Zips generated more offense than at any point in the game. It cost Dayton in the 86th minute when Orjan Bjaneso beat Flyer GK Matt Hutchins after an apparent miscue in the Flyer defense freed him up. With the deficit trimmed to 2-1, Akron put the heat on and had a couple chances to tie it up, but the Dayton defense cleared several dangerous balls out of the box and UD held on for the win. UD outshot Akron 13-8 for the game.

Senior Erik Nelson was a big reason why the Dayton midfield got things going in the right direction on Sunday, and did a nice job of acting as a conduit between the back line and forwards, earning him the UDPride Player of the Game.

Dayton returns to action on Saturday evening against Wright State for their first road match of the season. The Raiders have a strong team this year and should prove to be a challenge, but getting to 3-2 on the year after an 0-2 start would be a great stepping stone for Coach Schureck and his players.