The Dayton Flyers took on the Temple Owls Friday night without the services of junior All-Conference defender Jen Simonetti — who may be sidelined for the remainder of the season because of lingering effects from prior concussions. But it didn’t matter in the A-10 opener as UD rolled to a 6-0 cakewalk over the hapless Temple Owls before 614 hearty fans on a cold and rainy night at Baujan Field. The Flyers were paced by sophomore Reba Sedlacek’s first-career hat trick, while freshman Jamie Yates added a pair of goals after an Erin Showalter score started things off. Tesia Kozlowski added a career-best three assists as UD improves to 6-3-1 (2-0) on the season. Temple falls to 2-7-1 (0-2).

With Simonetti out of action, perhaps the Flyers could have been vulnerable, but from the opening kickoff two things were readily apparent. First, Dayton was by far the better team. And second, Temple redefines the word terrible. The two programs could play 100 times and the Owls would be hard-pressed to come within two goals of Dayton on their best day — and that’s assuming the Flyers don’t keep their starters in. It didn’t take long for Dayton to jump out on top as UD earned a corner kick and senior sweeper Erin Showalter pounced on a rebound in front of the goal that beat Owl GK Jackie Mauro in the seventh minute. In the 13th minute, Sedlacek notched her first of three goals on the night with a header off a Laura Boland cross right in front of the goal line to make it 2-0. Sedlacek struck again in the 20th minute when she directed a Beth McHugh cross into the net. Freshman Jamie Yates capped off the first half scoring when she took yet another cross, this time from the right side, and directed it off the crossbar and into the goal to make it 4-0 in favor of the Flyers in the 33rd minute. Dayton was already substituting en-masse at this point and by the time the half ended, many of the starters were making post-game plans on the bench.

The Flyers outshot Temple 23-3 in the first 45 minutes and were it not for the substitutions and some mercy, the disparity could have been much worse.

Dayton used the second half to give many of the non-starters extended minutes — some of whom continuing where they left off in the first half. That included the first action of the year for freshmen Anne Moore and Jaime Monahan, as well as junior GK Amanda Kuntz who played the entire second half in the nets. The second half lacked any quantifiable degree of execution however and a lack of finishing in the offense got in the way of at least five goals, four of which were one vs. one opportunities with the Owl goalkeeper. The Temple defense played a flat back line that pushed up and attempted to catch Dayton offsides whenever they attacked. It worked because Dayton was slow to play the ball much too often and were called for seven offsides in the match. That said, the Flyers did manage to tack on another two goals in the final 45 minutes. Dayton’s fifth goal and Yates’ second of the night came in the 81st minute when she collected a ball about 15 yards out on the left side, cut back to avoid a defender, and beat the goalkeeper with a well-placed shot to the high part of the net. Starters Reba Sedlacek and Tesia Kozlowski returned to action in the final minutes of the game and hooked up once again, this time as Kozlowski crossed a ball in three yards in front of the goal from the left side, finding the boot of Sedlacek where she redirected it for the 6-0 margin that proved to be the final score of the night.

Dayton cooled off in the second half, in part because the coaching staff had many starters on the sidelines — and perhaps in part to show some mercy against the helpless Temple Owls. But Temple hung in there in the second half and were only outshot 9-6. For the match, Dayton outshot Temple 32-9 and held an 8-0 advantage in corner kicks. Sarah West played the first half in goal for Dayton and made one save, while Kuntz made four routine saves in the second half. Neither goalkeeper was seriously tested and both had an easy go of it as the UD defense made quick work of the Owl attackers. Temple substituted goalkeepers as well in the second half as Elizabeth Tarasevich gave up the two second half Flyer goals.

With all the scoring, one might conclude that Dayton was firing on all cylinders, but that wasn’t exactly the case. While Dayton owned the possession game from start to finish and played their best ball in the first half — when it mattered most — the second half left a lot to be desired and in retrospect, looking back at Dayton’s very dangerous scoring opportunities, the Flyers should have scored another five or six goals in the very least. At least four sure-fire goals were one vs. one chances with the goalkeeper, but UD couldn’t convert for whatever reason. Those chances will be much harder to come by against the likes of Richmond and Rhode Island, and UD cannot afford to waste them against the A-10 contenders. It cannot be overstated how inept Temple was as well — offensively, defensively, goalkeeping, everywhere. Without taking too many punches at a fellow A-10 school, Temple should count their blessings it was only 6-0 because had Dayton finished well, the score would have been 12-0.

The Flyers should be heavily favored once again on Sunday afternoon against the St. Joseph’s Hawks. The Hawks were 2-1 losers to Xavier Friday night and will be looking to rebound. Even without Simonetti in the lineup, the Flyers should take care of business as SJU simply doesn’t have the horses if UD plays up to their potential.