DAYTON (OH) — Midfielder Amanda Gallow needed a second half breather and asked for a substitution. Taking her place was sophomore Kelly Blumenschein who delivered a pair of goals in the latter stages of the match to beat LaSalle 2-0 and earn the Flyers a 2nd place finish in the A10. With the bye into the A10 tourney semifinals, Dayton improves to 14-5-1 (8-2-1) while Lasalle drops to 9-8-3 (5-4-2).

With the best November weather at Baujan Field in several years, the perfect temperatures and important stakes were just the thing to get all 544 fans in attendance engaged early on. Dayton made that easy after the opening kickoff with persistent and dangerous pressure inside the Explorer penalty box. The Flyers knocked on the door several times in the opening 10 minutes and forced LaSalle out of their game and into damage control. Balls in the box and good work in the midfield allowed UD to get players forward and crash the net. The best early chance came when Lauren MacCormick had a ball at her feet from 6yds out, but she couldn’t find a proper touch to place it into an open net.

As the half continued, LaSalle righted themselves and provided more resistance. The Flyers had no trouble controlling ball possession and dictating the run of play, but the Explorers tightened their marks when it counted and forced UD into some poor touches after quality buildup moving forward.

LaSalle had moments of their own to counter-attack. UD’s back line was steady for much of the half however and as the match grew more physical, the Flyers had the size and hustle to win loose balls or earn free kicks. The Explorer coaching staff saw it different and felt they were getting homered, but their players were a half step slow or less aggressive when it mattered. Players rarely earn calls during moments of hesitation.

Despite the chances, UD couldn’t convert on offense. The longer LaSalle kept the match scoreless, the more confident they would become. Dayton had their best chances when they worked the ball through the middle of the pitch and into the feet of junior Colleen Gibson. Gibson played with great pace and had the tools to dribble around defenders to open up the field in the attack. When UD got away from that and tried working the ball down the sidelines, Lasalle’s defense used the touchline to their benefit to pinch the Flyer offense and generate unforced giveaways.

By halftime, the level of play was a notch below the start of the match. Still, Dayton outshot LaSalle 7-1 and earned the lone corner kick.

The second half provided a better effort from both teams. Dayton once again dominated the run of play however and remained physical against a LaSalle team that liked to play rough. The buildup and possession remained acceptable for stretches of the final 45 minutes, but the execution in the final third of the attack remained problematic at times. The Flyers had a couple great chances to get on the scoreboard with solid through balls to open players running free. Mandi Back, Caitlin Proffitt, and Gibson all found themselves with only the goalkeeper to beat, but solid stops by Melissa Sanger in the Explorer net kept the match scoreless.

LaSalle countered later on with a terrific scoring chance of their own, perhaps the best of the match by either team. Goalkeeper Deana Waintraub stoned a shot from 12yds out however and deflected it just past the far post to avoid a 1-0 deficit.

With UD almost certain that Fordham would dispatch Xavier down in Cincinnati, the Flyers knew they needed a win in order to secure second place in the conference.

Opportunities continued to come and go and with 20 minutes left, the first team to score would in all probability ruin the other team’s Sunday. For Dayton, allowing a cheap goal would have forced to them find two goals in the latter stages to protect second place. Thankfully, that scenario never played out, and the one that did ended up being the difference in the match.

Gallow motioned to the Flyer bench for a substitution and on came Blumenschein in her place. Five minutes later Blumenschein settled an end line cross from Kathleen Beljan, beat a defender, and slotted a ball into the net for the 1-0 lead in the 75th minute. She would answer again just six minutes later with a superb volley into the upper left corner from 12yds out to make it 2-0 and put the game on ice. Proffitt got credit for the assist on a nice cross from the end line after beating a defender to the corner.

The last 10 minutes of the match were all Dayton and the Flyers nearly punched it in again. The whistle sounded and it was mission accomplished.

UD outshot LaSalle 21-5 and had a 5-2 edge in corner kicks. While execution and precision continued to be problematic in the attack, Dayton remained physical in the middle third and did enough to keep the momentum squarely in their favor. The Explorers did a nice job of picking off Flyer goal kicks in the air and making UD’s transition more difficult than it needed to be. The Flyers made the most of their chances when their heads were up and seeing the entire field. Gibson was the catalyst that started most of the attack. When UD used her as a conduit, things picked up and UD got forward with numbers. She had one of her better matches of the season.

Defensively, Beljan’s work on the left side of the back line was nearly impeccable. Not only did she provide a stingy mark, but she also got forward in the attack and continues to find ways to get around players off the dribble. Her defensive instincts are textbook. It may have been her best form of the season and inked her name to the A10 All Rookie squad. Waintraub was only tested seriously once and came up huge when she had to.

Dayton can end all NCAA speculation by winning two matches in the conference tournament to earn the automatic bid. Short of that, they will need at least a semifinal win and a strong showing in the tourney final. If that happens, UD will sit right on the bubble for at-large consideration. The Flyers have a strong record, a good finish in the conference, and few bad losses. UD also lost to the strongest four teams on the schedule — Duke, Illinois, Rutgers, and Charlotte — so there is no signature win. Three of those losses however were by 1-0 scores and at least two of them were matches Dayton played well enough to win.