Dayton scored on an own-goal just moments after the start of the second half to break a 1-1 halftime tie, propelling the Flyers to an eventual 3-1 victory over the LaSalle Explorers Friday night at Baujan Field. Dayton improves to 10-5-1 (6-2) on the year while LaSalle falls to 2-11-1 (2-6).

The first five minutes of the match were everything fans had hoped for as Dayton took possession and within moments had a great scoring chance off the boot of a Beth McHugh cross that should have given Dayton a 1-0 lead. The penalty box was empty however, but McHugh provided a second chance for her teammates on a similar cross not long thereafter. Freshman Jamie Yates took the cross and put a shot on goal that beat LaSalle GK Marisa Suarez for the first score of the game in the fifth minute. With a 1-0 lead so early in the contest, Dayton looked ripe to take control of the game and put a lathering on one of the weakest teams in the Atlantic-10. The Explorers however, winners of just two games all year, capitalized on a defensive giveaway in the Dayton backfield, collected a ball near the top of the box, and beat freshman GK Sarah West to the lower right corner to even the match at 1-1 in the ninth minute. Up to that point it was LaSalle’s only offensive moment of the game and having cashed in, the match went from a potential laugher to a dogfight.

Just as soon as LaSalle scored, the air went out of Dayton’s game for reasons unknown. The Flyers had some good possession at times, but for the last 30 minutes of the first half the A-10 doormats simply outhustled, out-toughed, and out-jumped the Flyers for 50/50 balls and tackles. Truth be told, neither side looked any good, but LaSalle players started going around Flyers like obstacle course dogs going through the weave poles. And in many cases, Dayton found themselves on the ground from bad footing or bad balance because of it. It was a half that started so well — perhaps as well as Dayton has started a half in quite some time — yet it ended up a half mired in an infinitely more talented side playing down the level of the competition in some instances. Other than two superb Beth McHugh crosses, one sequences of passes, and a free kick opportunity, everything else was full of good intentions but lacked the execution. Dayton didn’t catch a break when McHugh exited the first half not long after her assist with an apparent leg aggravation — her right thigh was wrapped before the game. McHugh was a real threat on the right side in the first 10 minutes because of her speed, and the loss of that on the wing impaired Dayton’s offense. Dayton was also up against a team that while hustling hard, took the hatchet approach on several situations and committed several hard fouls. Then again, you do what you have to do.

It didn’t appear that the UD coaching staff was impressed at halftime because the halftime pep talk took place out on the field where fans could see — something that doesn’t happen often. Perhaps a mere formality.

Thankfully, that’s why soccer has two halfs, and Dayton managed to catch a break 52 seconds after intermission when senior Judi Aschenbrener chased a ball down the right side and put a cross to the near post just as the ball reached the end line. A LaSalle Explorer deflected the ball in front of the near post and tucked it over Suarez at the far post for an own goal in the 46th minute. Up 2-1, Dayton now had a chance to rededicate themselves and clobber a team that has no business giving the Flyers a tough time. It took another 10-15 minutes or so for Dayton to figure that out, but to their credit UD finished the last 30 minutes of the match playing their best soccer by far and ran the legs off of LaSalle — a team that appeared to tire at the end and lose their composure a bit. LaSalle’s tougher time in the later stages was due to a better effort in the hustle department by Dayton. The Flyers played a bit quicker as well and didn’t allow LaSalle to retreat on defense as quickly and pick off easy balls in the back. Not that the Flyers peppered the Explorer goal mouth with shots. In fact it was quite the opposite. While UD finished the match with a 17-5 advantage in shots, most were not on goal. And that’s too bad because Suarez looked awful in the first half between the pipes and would have posed little if any resistance had UD tested her — she made just two saves on the night. Dayton was persistent enough in the second half to earn themselves an insurance goal off the foot of sophomore Reba Sedlacek in the 70th minute. Dayton’s defense has seen better days but with the exception of the giveaway that resulted in a goal and a few errant passes, they made Sarah West’s job a fairly easy one. The Explorers had few opportunities to rip a ball in the direction of West, with their best chance coming on five corner kicks — one more that Dayton.

All told, it wasn’t one of Dayton’s more promising whistle-to-whistle efforts. The Flyers weren’t sharp in the first half and looked scared until after halftime. LaSalle is not a good soccer team by our measurement or any other measurement, yet the Flyers struggled to play alongside them for too many moments in the match. Had UD not cashed in on an own-goal at the start of the second half, who knows what might have transpired. The raw Flyer talent and depth would have seemingly found a way to get the job done, at least in theory. Unfortunately, theory and speculation and who’s better on paper doesn’t get you far. The second half was infinitely better than the first however and credit must be given to the players for recognizing a half that was not up to standards and making the adjustments at halftime to raise their level of play and earn the victory. At this point in the season, any win is a good win and Friday night constitutes another W in the win column and that’s always a good thing.

If the Flyers had some trouble getting pumped up Friday night for opening whistle, Sunday should offer several more reasons as Fordham arrives for Senior Day. The Rams, in first place in the A-10 until a loss tonight at Xavier, are still very much in the hunt for a Top-2 finish in the league. And at this point, that appears to be a battle between them and UD. The winner of Sunday’s match in all probability secures second place in the conference and a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Richmond, now in first place after Fordham’s loss, has a head-to-head win over Dayton and wins the league should they win out. They do have a season-ending match against Fordham however and if Dayton beats Fordham on Sunday and Fordham manages to beat Richmond at the end of the season, the Flyers would win the league. The chance of Fordham up-ending Richmond is slim and none however and no one else remaining on Richmond’s schedule should pose much resistance unless it’s Fordham. A lot can still happen but Dayton’s first order of business is sending the seniors out on a winning note on Sunday and giving themselves a chance to earn a first round bye. A win Sunday also ensures UD an undefeated home mark at 5-0-1 with the tie coming against #6 Virginia.