The #2 seed UD Men’s Soccer team hosted #6 seed Saint Louis on Sunday afternoon in the 2024 A10 Championship, seeking consecutive league titles for the second time in program history. The Flyers were on point and won their eighth match in a row with a 3-0 shutout before 1,556 fans at Baujan Field. The Flyers scored just before halftime to go up 1-0, then added a pair of insurance goals in the second half to secure the mahogany and improve to 13-2-3. The Billikens fall to 8-4-8 and are unlikely to receive an at-large invitation. With the win, UD earns the automatic bid from the A10 to the NCAA Tournament — though the Flyers were a postseason lock for an at-large invite had they lost on Sunday.

Dayton hosted SLU on November 2nd in the regular season finale and ended the Billikens’ 12-game unbeaten streak with a 4-1 pasting that pitted the nation’s #2 scoring offense against the nation’s #2 defensive unit in goals-against average. Sloo made the A10 Finals after squeaking by #3 UMass in a PK shootout and topping top-seeded George Mason 2-1 in the Semifinals. Both victories came on the road against a pair of opponents fighting for their own NCAA at-large livelihoods. Dayton reached the Finals after two home wins over #7 Davidson (1-0) and #5 Fordham (2-0) — the latter victory avenging a 4-2 home loss earlier in the season.

The opening minutes of the match were a bit of cat-and-mouse as both teams took turns moving possession forward and probing the opposing defenses for weaknesses to exploit. There weren’t many; both back lines did a nice job of remaining compact and in proper shape to turn chances away whether defending short passing or long balls over the top. A few half-chances came and went for both sides directly in front of the nets, but Dayton had the better opportunities including a pair of crosses that squibbed completely across the six-yard box. No one was there for the tap-in and the match marched on still deadlocked at 0-0.

Saint Louis had better possession than the first matchup two weeks ago and did well to pick up loose change in the midfield to counter-attack from the midfield stripe. Dayton didn’t do themselves any favors at times with errant touches that got away or 1 vs 1 dispossessions when posting up for service. The Bills’ strongest scoring opportunities came on free kicks from the field of play or corner flags, but once again the Flyer back line held firm and cleared away all the danger. Goalkeeper Dario Caetano was active and sure-handed, snuffing out high balls in the air while also distributing or clearing play with his feet.

The match changed in the 36th minute when SLU defender Carlos Leatherman earned his second yellow card of the match trying to slow down the Flyers pushing over the top in a foot race just outside the SLU goal box. With the goalkeeper extending out and no further defenders behind the ball, UD got taken out of the play and Leatherman was sent off with the red. Down a man for the remainder of the game, the Bills went from underdog to dire straits.

Dayton leveraged the extra man and capitalized in the 43rd minute when Felix Buabeng knocked a shot off the left post from 20 yards out to give the Flyers the important 1-0 advantage heading into the locker room. First half stats favored UD in shots 10-2 while SLU outpaced UD in corner kicks 3-1. The Flyers were the better side even before the Sloo red card and the score was indicative of the run of play.

An insurance goal would go a long way as the second half kicked off, circumstances that would take all the pressure off Dayton and essentially put the Billikens in Hail Mary mode. Were Sloo to somehow find the net and tie things up however, momentum would slip and the Bills might bunker, waste clock, and play for overtime or PKs knowing they were nursing a man-on disadvantage. The half started a bit sloppy and not much was either conceded or accomplished as play was largely contained between the 18s. Saint Louis had trouble solving Dayton’s back line and every time something opened up, UD closed the door with deflections, poke-aways, clearance headers, or outright dispossession. The defense also did a nice job of denying crosses in the box near the corner flags, ultimately digging possession out in tight spaces and moving the ball out of danger. On the other end of the field, the Flyers used long-ball service down the flanks to out-run the Sloo outside fullbacks. The results were mixed at times but it kept Sloo from pushing too many players forward — something they couldn’t afford to do already down a player. Another Flyer goal would basically seal the match so the Bills were in a pickle. Dayton was well aware and continued to nurse the 1-0 lead without taking reckless chances and getting out of shape in the defensive half of the field.

UD’s speed, athleticism, and pressure gradually wore the Bills down however and Joseph Melto Quiah hit paydirt in the 71st minute with a nifty spin-and-shoot from 12 yards that found the left corner of the net to give the Flyers the 2-0 breathing room they desired. The writing was on the wall with 20 minutes remaining and unless the mother of all collapses occurred, Dayton was on the glidepath to title hardware. Buabeng earned his brace in the 74th minute with a sliding redirect of an outstanding Andrew Armstrong cross from the left side of the goal box to put the Flyers up 3-0 and officially stick a fork in things. The last 15 minutes were a Sloo scramble to find the net and make the final score more respectable, but once again the Dayton defense was unwilling to budge and curated some of their best defending of the day to preserve the shutout win.

Second half shots favored UD 9-4 while corner kicks were 1-1.

Dayton defender Hjalti Sigurdsson was named Most Outstanding Player of the A10 Tournament, a well-earned nod as the Flyer defense pitched three shutouts in the tourney and afforded the offense enough latitude to remain true to their identity without pressing or being forced to play from behind. Also making the All-Tourney team were Andrew Armstrong, Martin Bakken, Felix Buabeng, Joseph Melto Quiah, and Dario Caetano.

Win or lose, Dayton was a shoo-in for the NCAA Tournament with marquee victories over Indiana and West Virginia. Currently sporting a #6 RPI, UD has an excellent chance of receiving a Top-16 seed in the 48-team field, earning a 1st Round bye, and subsequently hosting a 2nd Round match at Baujan Field.

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