The Dayton Flyers blanked the Air Force Academy 3-0 at Baujan Field Sunday afternoon with three goals from the feet of sophomore Missy Gregg. Dayton improves to 6-3 (0-0), having won six of their last seven games of the season. Sunday’s victory was the 200th win in the program’s history, dating back to 1984.

Air Force came into the contest with a dismal 1-7-1 record, and got blanked by the Flyers to run their record to 1-8-1, but Sunday’s game was a great indicator of why boxscores are filled with nothing more than lies, damn lies, and statistics. For those who saw the game, they witnessed an AFA squad that was stiff competition all afternoon and were it not for Gregg’s golden left foot, fans could hardly tell the teams apart. The Falcons are a quality team in spite of their record but can’t seem to shake some bad luck that has plagued the service academy all year. Sunday’s loss to Dayton was their first defeat by more than a single goal and just a week ago the Falcons blew a 3-0 lead to Denver before losing in overtime.

Dayton started the first half like most of the other contests this year, moving in slow-motion as if their feet were in quicksand. To Air Force’s credit, they retaliated with blue-collar sweat that paid off in the form of ball possession and confidence as the minutes wore on. While the Flyers were standing around, AFA got down and dirty — a hallmark of the service academies — and turned into a major nuisance for the home team. Dayton picked things up in the last 30 minutes and started challenging the ball for the first time. Things paid off when Dayton earned a corner kick that resulted in a loose ball in the penalty box. The ball skipped by a couple defenders and found Missy Gregg’s feet where she took a touch and blasted it from 6yds out to give the Flyers a 1-0 advantage in the 29th minute.

Gregg struck again in the 34th minute as junior Megan KcKnight fed her a nice long ball into free space that she ran onto, took into goal, and beat the goalie with a far post shot for a 2-0 lead. It was a controversial goal as most fans — and especially the AFA Head Coach — felt Gregg was in an offsides position when McKnight kicked the ball. The AFA bench drew a yellow card for dissent but the call stood and play continued.

Air Force had a super chance to get on the scoreboard in the first half when the Falcons took a corner kick that found the head of a AFA player in the box. AFA redirected the corner kick with a rocketed head ball but UD goalkeeper Stephanie Weisenfeld came up large with an improbable save to deny the Falcons from an otherwise certain goal.

Dayton started the second half much better than the first as players were quicker to the ball and tougher in traffic. Air Force never threw in the towel however and continued to aggravate the Flyers by picking off errant passes, winning 50/50 balls, or countering with breakaways up the middle.

In the 52nd minute however, Gregg put the game out of reach with another long ball corral, this time from sophomore Lindsey Whitehead. Whitehead put the ball over the defensive line and Gregg collected the pass, juked the last defender to the right, then juked her again to the left so she could set up her bazooka left foot. While the AFA defender became dizzy, Gregg lined the shot into the net from 15yds out that beat a helpless AFA goalkeeper who was waving the white flag. For her efforts on Sunday, Showtime Gregg earns her second consecutive UDPride Player of the Game, with Stephanie Weisenfeld a strong second.

Despite a 3-0 advantage, the overall play of the game remained competitive and Dayton never appeared to dominate. Air Force had a couple more strong scoring chances in the final half, including a rocketed free kick from 30yds out, but Weisenfeld was all over it yet again to tip it over the crossbar and deny the goal. Despite being 5’3”, Weisenfeld continues to play like a behemoth. Should Weisenfeld not make the A-10 All Conference 1st Team this year, league coaches should hold their heads in shame.

While Dayton won 3-0, it was an evenly-played match for 85 minutes. Air Force outshot the Flyers 18-10 including a 12-6 advantage on shots-on-goal. Weisenfeld matched her career-high with 10 saves. In fact, the AFA goalkeepers made just three saves all day. Missy Gregg took just four shots, but found the net on three of them. While AFA had more shots and shots-on-goal, the Flyers made the most of their chances. After Missy Gregg left the game with 20 minutes remaining, the contest was a virtual stalemate.

Air Force was a dangerous team and the Dayton coaching staff knew their poor record was not indicative of their skill level. While Dayton looked better than their last home game — a victory over Ohio Univ. — they remain a difficult team to assess. There are plenty of skilled players on the field, but Dayton has an especially tough time playing physical. The loss to Ohio State exposed this weakness, but Dayton is not without its physical players. Freshman defender Nina DiGuardi sets a strong example with her rough and tough style, and when the other players follow suit, the Flyers go from competitive to downright dangerous. Dayton is making progress every game and Head Coach Mike Tucker indicated earlier this week that several of the players out of action due to injury may be on the verge of returning — some of whom were in the starting lineup. If Dayton returns to full strength and decides to play a full 90 minutes of chest-pounding intimidating soccer, they are 2-3 goals better than any opponent remaining on the schedule.

Easily.