The Dayton womens soccer team made it two wins in a row Wednesday night on the heels of Erin Showalter’s impeccable game as the Flyers took care of business against cross-town rival Wright State for a 4-1 win before 1,387 fans, making it the second-highest attended game in UD soccer history and breaking the mark of 1,227 fans set two Sundays ago against Evansville. The Flyers are now 2-2 on the season and at the .500 mark for the first time in 2000.

As the crowd kept marching through the ticket gates in droves, Dayton and Wright State kicked off in typical fashion as both rivals took a few early chances with several long balls to test the defenders. The Flyers had the better chances however and it wasn’t long before Missy Showtime Gregg gathered up a few loose balls and started juking and jiving for several shots on goal, including one in which she faked out three defenders in a row before rifling a shot that barely sailed over the crossbar. While Gregg was licking her chops on the chance she almost always buries in the back of the net, her teammates were up to the challenge and started piecing together nice give-and-go’s to take control of the possession game. Freshmen Kara Kenney and Beth McHugh asserted their toughness up the middle on several occasions, helping the Flyers create several scoring chances as the half unfolded.

With under five minutes in the half, Gregg challenged a Wright State defender on a loose ball near the 18-yd line and stirred up another scoring chance as Melissa Buck gathered the ball and buried it in the back of the net for the lone score of the half and her first goal of the season. It was a timely goal the Flyers deserved for outplaying the Raiders in the first half, and clearly broke the spirit on the Wright State bench as the half ended soon thereafter.

Dayton wasted little time as the second half kicked off and dashed any Raider hopes of an upset as the Flyers found the back of the net in the first five minutes of the final frame. Missy Gregg got on the scoreboard on a nifty spin in the box that resulted in a well-struck left-footer that found the Raider goalkeeper waving the white flag. Trailing 2-0, Wright State saw the writing on the wall and the Raider play deteriorated in light of the deficit. An own-goal by Wright State made it 3-0 to add insult to injury.

Realizing the game was in hand, Head Coach Mike Tucker started substituting liberally to share the playing time, including pulling starting goalkeeper Steph Weisenfeld for one of the frosh keepers. Soon thereafter WSU’s Alicia Bailey, a freshman from Xenia HS, launched a shot from 30 yards that beat the Flyer keeper in the far corner of the net to trim the deficit to 3-1. One might argue that Weisenfeld would have had the far post covered, but Tucker will gladly give up a goal at the chance to give his two freshmen goalkeepers valuable experience in games that are already in the books.

Junior Megan McKnight extinguished any faint hopes of a Raider comeback by drilling a 26yd free kick into the back of the net just two minutes after the lone Raider goal to round out the game’s scoring.

The Flyers were fairly sharp and put together several nice series of possession, especially in the second half. Dayton looked sharper than in their loss to Evansville, but it’s tough to say if the level of competition had something to do with it. Several players stood out, including McHugh, Gregg, McKnight, Brown, Kenney, and Skladany, but it was freshman sweeper Erin Showalter who stole the show and earns UDPride’s Player of the Game.

Showalter, just a year removed from Brunswick HS, was as efficient and iron-clad as a team’s sweeper could be, gathering loose balls and distributing to the wings — especially when it was time to move the play to the weak side of the field. Showalter, 5’10”, used her size and strength to control the entire defensive third of the field, and when she found herself with the ball at her feet, made good things happen on every occasion by sending pinpoint long balls to the forwards or clearing loose balls that looked like trouble. Cool, calm, and collected she was, always sure of herself, never panicked. Tucker found a good one.

The Flyers continue their homestand on Sunday afternoon as Cal Poly invades Baujan Field. Dayton will be without the services of freshman Judi Aschenbrener, the former two-time HS All-American from Bay HS, due to a knee injury that has kept her out of action since the home opener against Evansville. Aschenbrener’s quick-strike ability at forward will be missed for at least 3-4 weeks as she undergoes surgery, and missing the entire season is not out of the question. Regardless, Dayton has won two in a row after starting the season 0-2, and should be expected to rip off a few more victories if they play their first halves like the second. The Flyers have a propensity to play to the level of the competition, but a 4-1 win over Wright State is a good start at fixing this. Expect another huge crowd on Sunday so arrive early.