Dayton finished off a regular season the proper way on Sunday afternoon by beating #16 Rhode Island 2-0 to improve their record to 11-6-2 (8-2-1) and earning the #2 seed in the upcoming Atlantic-10 Tournament next weekend at Baujan Field. Sunday Isename scored both goals in the second half as the Rams fell for the just the second time in league play. URI clinched the season title on Friday and the #1 tournament seed that goes with it.

With Rhode Island’s season title and top seed already wrapped up, the Ram coaching staff elected to keep All American Nicholas McCreath on the sidelines for this one, though McCreath’s senior year has seen him score just five goals and five assists, putting him behind UD players Mike Nsien and Chris Rolfe on the A-10 scoring leaderboard. Whether he would have been the difference or not won’t be answered until possibly next week, but the Ram team that took the field on Sunday had their hands full with the Flyers.

The first 10 minutes of the first half were dominated by Rhode Island as the Rams possessed the biggest size UD has faced all season — including 6-4 195lb Irishmen Gareth Elliot in the midfield. Unable to win the high balls, Dayton let URI bring the ball down to the feet and give them early control of the match. The Rams did a superb job of presenting themselves for passes near the UD penalty box by holding off Flyer defenders behind them. Once served the ball, they fed it off to either side for teammates who put the ball on goal or in the box. Dayton cleared all the scary opportunities away however and after 25 minutes, they settled down and started giving URI trouble.

Senior midfielder Erik Nelson helped lead the charge by going in orbit for several big-time head ball winners, and Wade Fischer provided blue-collar hustle in the front line after subbing for Chris Rolfe later in the half. Combined, they juiced up the Flyers and turned the game to an even battle as the first half came to a close. Just before halftime however, UD nearly got the go-ahead goal. The Flyers took a free kick from 30 yards out on the left side with 30 seconds remaining that deflected off a URI player and out of bounds for a Dayton corner kick. Rushing to beat the clock, UD knocked a quick ball into the mixer and a Flyer volley sailed just high as the halftime whistled blew.

The second half started off where the first half ended as both sides turned it up a notch and looked for the first goal of the game. Soon enough though, Dayton started finding seams in the URI defense, and midfield space gave the Flyers several great opportunities to serve balls on the wing that put the Rams on their heels. With strong pressure on the Rhode Island goal, UD began looking like the team to beat.

Dayton’s hustle finally hit paydirt in the 66th minute when Sunday Isename redirected a Wade Fischer shot in front of the URI goal that beat the goalkeeper and gave the Flyers a 1-0 advantage. The Rams have one the most potent offenses in the league however and one goal felt more like half a goal. But the Flyers answered again just three minutes later when Isename collected his second ringer of the day on a shot from the right side of the box that beat the Ram goalkeeper who found himself out of position to make the save. With a two goal lead and 20 minutes to go, the match was pretty much over as the Rams waived the white flag and called it a day. The Flyers had one or two more quality chances to add to the 2-0 lead, but URI managed to come up with the defensive clears in the last minutes of the game.

While Dayton notched two goals, the Rams outshot UD 14-3, though many of them were not on goal. The ones that were however were great opportunities, but Flyer goalkeeper Matt Hutchins made two fine plays that looked like sure bets for Rhode Island, and ended up earning his fourth shutout of the season.

Several players stepped it up on Sunday and it’s hard to single out any particular player. Walk-on defender Scott Hinshaw played well all weekend and has proven to be a reliable stopper at the left back position, going about his business with little bravado. Isename’s two goals on the day can’t be overlooked, and sophomore defender Denny Clanton continues to prove why he’s perhaps the best stopper/sweeper in the conference. Nelson’s contributions were mentioned earlier. It looked like Dayton’s fortunes turned their way however when senior Wade Fischer came in the game and never stopped running. Whether it was putting pressure on the Ram goalkeeper or winning a loose ball, Fischer led the charge and earns the UDPride Player of the Game.

Dayton will now face #3 seed UMass on Friday night at 8pm at Baujan Field in the A-10 Tournament semifinals. URI, the #1 seed, faces off with #4 Richmond at 5:30pm. Because UD has the home field advantage and the fact that they’ve beaten two of the other seeded teams in the last two days — both shutouts — Dayton’s chances are looking good. With virtually no chance of earning an at-large birth into the NCAA Tournament, UD probably needs to win the tournament to get in. But that proposition is not out of the question. The Flyers are playing their best ball of the season and have enough talent to win it all. It’s a position the Flyers have been in before. With two tournament titles already in their trophy case, Dayton knows what it will take to get the job done. The home crowd should be a definite factor and this year’s team feeds off the fan energy. Look for Dayton to put their best foot forward and for the Flyer Faithful to fill the stands to see it happen.