MORGANTOWN (WV) — The incredible magic of the UD women’s soccer team continues to amaze and rewrite history at the Univ. Dayton. Sunday afternoon the Flyers dominated the Miami (OH) RedHawks for a 2-0 victory, earning Head Coach Mike Tucker’s program their first-ever Sweet Sixteen berth in the NCAA Tournament. Dayton improves to 17-5 on the year and are winners of a school record 15 straight — the second longest active streak in the nation behind North Carolina. UD will face Pac-10 power UCLA in Los Angeles in the third round, a Bruin club who owns the #3 overall seed in the tournament. The Bruins got by in-state counterpart Pepperdine 2-1 in the 2nd Rd.

The Flyers dominated the RedHawks for 75 of 90 minutes and struck for their first goal just two minutes into the match. What turned into a somewhat controversial goal came about after senior Megan McKnight sent a cross from the left side that sailed far post, forcing the RedHawk goalkeeper to make a tough save. A short struggle in the box as the ball caromed away resulted in what appeared to be a goal kick, but the linesman on the far side held up his flag indicating McKnight’s ball crossed the plane of the goal. It wasn’t until several seconds later that both sides realized what transpired and Dayton quickly went into celebration while the RedHawk contingent looked stunned.

After some abuse from the RedHawk fans and cheers from the Flyer Faithful, the game resumed with the Flyers ahead 1-0 just moments after the opening kickoff.

However controversial or obvious the goal was, it did little more than give Dayton the keys to their own car because the Flyers sat in the driver’s seat for most of the match. Miami’s best soccer came at around the 25:00 mark of the first half when they put considerable pressure on the Flyer defensive third of the field, forcing UD into a short-term bunker mode to clear away balls and snuff out seams that RedHawk players were finding. Slowly but surely however, UD regained control and never let it go again. Seemingly frustrated at their inability to solve Dayton’s suffocating defense, Miami grew a bit frustrated when they couldn’t find the nets. More importantly, Dayton owned the midfield play for the remainder of the half by selling out, busting chops, and digging deeper than their local rivals. Dayton simply had more speed and more juice in the legs, and it showed. They were also simply the better team, and that showed too.

The Flyers’ second goal came at the perfect time. With under four minutes to play in the 1st half, McKnight crossed a ball into the RedHawk penalty box on a set piece and Erin Showalter dipped low and glazed it off her head past the Miami (OH) goalkeeper for the 2-0 lead. With halftime eminent and a 2-0 deficit facing them, Miami was on life support and never seriously regained consciousness.

The second half, despite no goals, was dominated by the Flyers once again and UD had several more good chances to add on a third score. Sophomore Judi Aschenbrener’s motor never stopped on offense and by going all out for several long balls down the sidelines, she forced the RedHawks into contesting everything in their defensive third of the field. By and large, Dayton made it difficult everywhere on the pitch and no more so in the midfield and defense. Just as Maryland controlled the midfield in the NCAA 1st Rd, the Flyers returned the favor on Sunday by winning all the loose balls, most of the headers, and keeping their poise when hustling back on defense to break up a Miami fast break. Nina DiGuardi and the rest of the back line mopped the floor with Miami players as they skied for big-time headers that made the RedHawks regroup their attack and prove they could beat Dayton with the ball on the ground.

By and large, it never happened. Dayton’s defense, who’s made a habit all year of putting a cork in the best opposing goal scorers, bottled up reigning MAC Player of the Year Andrea Cunningham to the tune of just two shots and no shots on goal. Danielle Berkemeier, the opposing forward who kicked the winning PK in Friday’s upset over West Virginia, had just one shot and no shots on goal. For the match, Miami (OH) tallied just six shots and a single shot on goal, while the Flyers racked up 13 shots and six shots on goal. Dayton also held the corner kick advantage 8-3.

Miami had a good chance to close the deficit to 2-1 with about 10 minutes to play but Steph Weisenfeld made a super save and two other Flyers deflected balls near the goal line to preserve the shutout. The Flyers did an outstanding job of consuming the last 10 minutes of the match by sending possession balls to the corner flags to milk the clock and win throw-ins or corner kicks.

As there has been all year, there were many heroes. The defense continues to amaze and have allowed just five goals in the last 13 matches — half of those regarded as the toughest opponents of the season. The midfield had perhaps their best effort of the season on Sunday and controlled the middle third of the field where critical possession is typically won or lost. And the forwards did an equally nice job of pursuing the long balls and making Miami pass the ball out of the back. The Flyers seemed to benefit from the officiating but faster, more technically gifted teams bring that upon themselves, and Maryland held a similar advantage on Friday.

The Flyers are showing the soccer community that Dayton can and will compete at the national level. Now firmly nestled among the best 16 teams in the country, Dayton is a prime example of a group of players who are more valuable than the sum of the parts. There are no bona fide superstars at Dayton. There are no Hermann Finalists. What Dayton has however is a bunch of players who’ve put aside the personal goals for those of the team. It’s a team of strong-willed, quality players with few weaknesses who beat teams by playing clean soccer with few mistakes and a gritty effort. Sometimes the best players are the ones who aren’t the best in any one area, but very good at everything. Head Coach Mike Tucker has a roster full of those players and have proven without a shadow of a doubt that you don’t need All-Americans to play like an All-American team. Which is why Sunday’s performance was a microcosm of the season and why we’re giving the UDPride Player of the Game to the entire team. From forward-turned-defender Sarah Walker in the back line, to conduit Kara Kenney on the midfield flank, to Judi Aschenbrener coming off the bench, everyone has their own personal story of sacrificing something personal for the good of the team. That’s what happens however when winning is the only goal to score. That’s why they are in the Sweet Sixteen. That’s why history is being rewritten.