The #5 UD men’s soccer team hosted the Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA 2nd Round on Sunday evening at Baujan Field, prevailing with a decisive 2-0 shutout victory to reach the Sweet-16 for the first time in program history. An overflow crowd of 2,516 witnessed a goal in each half from Ethan Sassine as the Flyers improve to 14-2-3 and extend the nation’s longest winning streak to nine matches. The Wolverines end their season at 9-5-7.

Michigan reached the NCAA 2nd round after topping Robert Morris 2-0 on Thursday in Ann Arbor, rekindling a rivalry with Dayton that started under former Head Coach Dave Schureck and ended with current skipper Dennis Currier facing UM for the last time in 2005. With the series at 3-4-1, it was an opportunity to level things up and create a new postseason tournament benchmark. The Wolverines had to play their way into the postseason with an at-large bid bolstered by a late surge in the Big10 tournament, ousting Indiana and UCLA before falling to #1 ranked Ohio State 1-0 in the conference championship hosted by the Buckeyes.  The Flyers won the A10 tournament and secured the automatic bid with a 3-0 win over Saint Louis, but unlike Michigan were at-large locks had they stumbled. Dayton last appeared in the NCAA Tournament a year ago while Michigan’s last bid came in 2019 (UM reached the College Cup in 2010).

Several days of rain, sleet, and wet snow finally melted away in time for Sunday’s match as temperatures were in the high-40s at kickoff. The packed terrace, steel bleachers, sideline, and fence lines produced one of the largest crowds in Baujan Field history as the two teams kicked off in front of enthusiastic fans.  The first 10 minutes were a back-and-forth affair as neither side took firm control of the play, but the Wolverines proved dangerous enough to get forward with numbers and test the Flyer back line with speedy dribble-drives directly at the goal mouth.  A couple UM opportunities produced quality shots that goalkeeper Dario Caetano snuffed out by remaining on this line, but the chances nonetheless signaled the high stakes at play with a berth in the Sweet-16 up for grabs.  Dayton finally settled in around the 12 minute mark and slowly weaned possession into long balls down the touch lines that forced the UM fullbacks to defend in retreat. While the service was oftentimes good, few chances turned into shots on frame but did generate numerous corner kicks.  The Flyers tried to knock one in the net with their tallest timber, but Michigan did well to keep the match deadlocked at 0-0.

UM’s best opportunities in the offensive half of the field came on counter-attacks as their early and deliberate ball possession slowly faded away.  Dayton’s back line — perhaps the storyline of the last 6 weeks of the season — was steadfast and got their heads or feet on everything they needed.  Like a noose slowly tightening, UD’s relentless pressure started to find cracks in the Wolverine defensive third where weak-side service dominated.  It was still anyone’s match through 35 minutes of play however and sometimes all it takes is one score either way to win a high-stakes battle in the postseason.  The Flyers took the first step forward in the 39th minute when Ethan Sassine finished a header at the far post courtesy of Geni Kenyane’s corner kick from the right side to put UD up 1-0 — and with a surge of momentum just before halftime.  Michigan tried to tie it up before intermission but once again Head Coach Dennis Currier’s fullbacks were magnificent, holding the line and protecting the 1-0 lead heading into the locker room.

Dayton dominated first half stats in shots 11-4 and corner kicks 6-0.

The second half restart was critically important for both teams; the Flyers needed to avoid any letdown while Michigan was probably one more surrendered goal away from being on life support.  The team to score first in the second half — if either team scored at all — would carry momentum the rest of the way.  UD didn’t take their foot off the gas however, they mashed it through the floorboard.  Finishing the first half with their best soccer, they built upon the good run-of-play with additional possession and collective push.  By the 55th minute, Dayton dominated the ball and forced the Wolverines to do a lot of chasing.  Only when the Flyers suffered a bad touch or committed an unnecessary foul did UM turn things around and threaten the Flyer defensive third with danger or urgency.  Several great scoring chances came and went for UD without success, but that all changed in the 61st minute when Sassine redirected a cross inside the box that bounced past UM goalkeeper Isaiah Goldson to double the Dayton lead and complete the brace.

With a half hour left to play, Michigan was all but finished unless they generated a level of soccer unseen in the first 60 minutes and got some serious help from a Flyer team choosing to take a nap.

The UD back line said “no way”.

The Wolverines pushed forward as best they could to cut the deficit in half, but ran into a brick wall stronger than the one staring back at them behind the Flyer goal mouth.  Caetano and his fullbacks — with help from the mids — denied everything at all the critical moments with blocked shots, deflections, takeaways, or the occasional save with the mitts.  Meanwhile, UD salted clock away by controlling possession in extended chunks, leading to additional goal-scoring chances inside the UM goal box that were nearly put away to embellish the final score.  No further goals were tendered and the last 10 minutes were played out like a mutual understanding of the fate of both squads.

Second half shots favored UD 16-5 and corner kicks were 6-1, illustrating the statistical dominance UD once again hammered against a quality opponent. For comparison, in UM’s 1-0 loss to #1 ranked Ohio State in the Big10 finals a week earlier, shots were 12-12. This remains a Flyer team spontaneously combustible on offense, with a defense turning into one of the nation’s toughest to crack. Combine those two elements and Dayton is playing extremely well in all phases with no glaring weaknesses other than their own occasional habit of sending shots off frame that don’t challenge the net.  With 16 teams remaining, many are good enough to win the national title if the ball bounces right and Dayton belongs in that group. The Flyers are a handful when at their best.

As the #5 overall tournament seed, UD now owns home field advantage throughout the regionals after #4 Georgetown lost to NC State.  Dayton hosts #12 seed SMU (11-2-6) on Saturday November 30th. The Mustangs topped Washington 2-1 at home with a goal in the 89th minute. Kickoff at Baujan Field is 7pm EST.

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