It took just two minutes for the Dayton Flyers to surrender a goal against the LaSalle Explorers in the 2014 A10 Tournament Championship on Sunday afternoon at Baujan Field. It took 88 minutes of heart and determination to ensure it didn’t matter.

In a season defined by chasing from behind, perhaps it was fitting that UD earned their biggest victory of the season by doing it the hard way, topping LaSalle 2-1 to take the 2014 A10 Tourney title and punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament — the program’s first since 2011. Defender Megan Herr picked the right time to score her first goal of the season in the 72nd minute, just three minutes after Erin O’Malley tied the match at 1-1 on a flick header. The Flyers improve to 12-8-2 and now await the tourney bracket, while LaSalle falls to 14-5-2 and sees their 10-match winning streaked halted. The Explorers should make the NCAAs as an at-large selection.

On a cool but otherwise beautiful afternoon for soccer on the campus of the University of Dayton, the fans slowly but consistently trickled into Baujan Field to make for a lively and entertaining scene. With terrace, bleachers, and sidelines full, the match got underway and it didn’t take long for the regular season champs from Philadelphia to make their presence known.

A cross from the left side of the box squibbed past a UD defender and toward the far right post, forcing Flyer GK Heather Betancourt to step out and make a late challenge. By then it was too late however as A10 star Kelsey Haycook headed a ‘gimme’ into the net from inside the six to put LaSalle up 1-0 after just 2:13 of soccer off the game clock.

It was a costly mistake so early in the match and even the best competitors might let their minds wander into self-doubt. To UD’s credit however, they moved on and didn’t waste time kicking themselves further. If nothing else, the next 20 minutes of the match may have been the most important all day — the kind of re-set that calmed nerves and settled the team into a quiet confidence. That’s not to say LaSalle eased off the gas however. In fact, the Explorers were the better side from start to finish over the first 45 minutes, and that extended well into the middle part of the first half while looking to extend their 1-0 lead.

Dayton’s job was to keep the score 1-0 however and not let things get too far away from them. A 2-0 deficit would feel closer to 10-0, so it was imperative for Dayton to keep the score close even if they were getting outplayed.

By and large, that’s what happened over the remainder of the half. The Flyers took LaSalle’s best punches but managed to turn those dangerous scoring chances away with timely defending all over the field. Offensively, UD had fewer overall scoring chances but generated perhaps the best chances by either side — narrowly missing on at least two occasions when service trickled across the entire face of the LaSalle goal mouth with no one there to finish.

It was a physical half as both teams held nothing back, but LaSalle had the decisive edge in foot strength and service to their attacking players, sending booming but purposeful weak-side balls that caused UD’s perimeter defenders to chase the ball over their shoulders. A flurry directly in front of the UD box nearly made the score 2-0, but a last-second clear near the goal line saved the Flyers’ bacon when things were looking dire.

Thankfully, the Flyers did what they needed to do — get to halftime with the match still in reach. Despite being down 1-0 and getting outplayed, UD had 45 minutes of soccer to figure things out. LaSalle out-shot UD 14-9 in the first half while corner kicks favored UD 2-0.

The start of the second half — the entire second half for that matter — was perhaps Dayton’s grittiest of the entire season.

“I told them at halftime we needed to find feet,” Tucker said. “We didn’t put two passes together in the first half. I didn’t care who we passed it to but if we played it on the ground we could be dangerous.”

The first eight minutes after the re-start was all Dayton. Exiting the locker room with unfinished business, the Flyers upped the tempo and became more physical in the midfield, winning numerous 50/50 challenges with excellent step-ups and shoulder-to-shoulder head balls to provide some much-needed confidence. That energy soon spread across the entire lineup and Dayton was knocking on the door offensively, applying consistent pressure in the final third of the offense with triangle passing and purposeful runs off the ball.

O’Malley and Nicole Waters were bulldozers in the middle, taking on LaSalle’s equally-physical possession players and winning their share of balls when it counted. Libby Leedom also found opportunities to tag-team the effort.

Dayton missed tying the match on several occasions, shots going just left and right of the goalposts with the goalkeeper soundly beaten. Ashley Campbell got behind the last defender on several chances, using her gazelle-like strides to leg out slotted balls down the middle. Her best chance came on a 1 vs. 1 with GK Jessica Wiggins that wasn’t cashed in.

Despite the solid run of play, UD didn’t have a goal to show for their efforts however. The second half clock continued to run and things were starting to get serious. If the Explorers could keep the match at 1-0 into the final 10 minutes, perhaps they’d bunker and make it all but impossible to score.

O’Malley was picture-perfect on a flick-header from Nicole Waters however in the 69th minute, taking the ball with her back to goal and adding a slight ricochet to alter the path and slip it past the goalkeeper.

From there it was ‘game on’.

The Flyers suddenly had their second wind and knew they were one solid piece of finishing away from taking the lead and assuming firm control of the match. Just three minutes later, Dayton once again used a flick header that found defender Megan Herr weak-side. She slotted a ball into the net off of the service for the 2-1 lead in the 72nd minute.

As rough as the first half was for Dayton, they turned things around in the second half and were just 18 minutes away from an A10 title. It would take great defense and more of the same physical play however to make the score stick.

But that’s exactly what the Flyers did. As the match continued, Dayton played harder, more aggressive, and sold out on nearly every loose-ball challenge to keep the Explorer offense out of synch. It was all hands on deck as critical tackles made the difference between a tasty LaSalle counter-attack and outright possession by the Flyers. When UD won possession, they continued to play to feet and never played not to lose. Balls sent forward continued to find open players running into free space. Meghan Blank and Alexis Kiehl had difficult assignments all day against LaSalle’s All-Conference back line. Neither player turned many corners deep into the offense, but they did leg out enough balls and win possession that ate more game clock, won throw-ins, and earned more corner kicks.

Campbell went down late in the second half after taking a nasty fall inside the LaSalle goal box. She was carried off the field with an aparent ankle injury and did not return. Her lower leg-ankle was placed in a small, soft-cast after the match. Despite her critical absence, Campbell’s teammates covered.

With two minutes to play, LaSalle sent long balls out of the back, but the Flyer back line fought for every scrap and speck of real estate to knock balls away with pinging headers or toe-pokes that proved as invaluable as the two Flyer goals that got them the lead in the first place. The team hustle also led to a late corner kick with under a minute to play that effectively iced the game. A late free kick by LaSalle with seconds remaining ran out the clock, sending the Flyer bench onto the field for a pile-on with their teammates.

The victory quantified the second half performance as the Flyers out-shot LaSalle 12-6 in the final 45 minutes, including a commanding 5-0 from the corner flags.

More talented UD women’s soccer teams have missed out on the NCAA tournament, a detail that won’t escape seasoned Flyer fans. When asked to put the satisfaction of this year’s title in perspective, Mike Tucker didn’t hesitate: “its up there.” It’s hard to make the Big Dance no matter what, a credit to the 2014 team for overcoming piles of adversity all season. No one can accuse UD of being handed anything all year.

Sophomore midfielder Erin O’Malley earned tournament MVP honors, joining teammates Heather Betancourt, Nicole Waters, Ashley Campbell, and Alexis Kiehl.

In a season that started 2-5-1 by playing poorly, playing well enough to win but losing, or just flat-out beaten themselves, Dayton rebounded in-conference to salvage a bittersweet ending while playing — by far — their best soccer of the entire season. Still, it wasn’t easy.

UD finished 3rd in the A10 standings and the wheels appeared to be falling off for good just one month ago. A disappointing 3-1 loss at St. Joseph’s on October 10th put the Flyer record at 5-7-1 (1-1-0). It was the kind of loss however that may have changed the season.

“After the St. Joe game I read them the riot act and said things I haven’t said in a long time,” Tucker admitted. “The language stung. But that’s when we turned things around.” He also switched to a 3-5-2 lineup to take advantage of his play-makers.

UD almost fell off the cliff just two days later however, trailing George Mason 2-0 with under four minutes remaining. Two late goals sent the match into overtime and the Flyers eventually won 3-2 in a most improbable comeback. The Flyers only dropped one match after that — a 1-0 loss at home to LaSalle in a game Dayton thoroughly dominated. The Flyers are 6-0-1 in their last seven games.

UD now awaits the NCAA tournament bracket. The pairings will be announced on Monday at 4:30pm.