One of Dayton’s most successful senior classes — maybe the most successful ever — capped off their final regular season home game of their careers, helping the Flyers shutout George Washington 3-0 before 868 fans on a sunny and mild late October afternoon at Baujan Field. The Flyers not only set a school record with their 16th straight win, they also take over the nation’s longest winning streak as Notre Dame suffered a tie just days ago. Dayton improves to 16-1 (9-0) while GW falls to 5-7-5 (3-3-3) and has some work to do to make the six-team postseason A10 conference tournament.

While senior goalkeepers Stacy DeLuca and Amanda Kuntz each played an entire half in the nets, the rest of the Dayton seniors took the field together to start the match: Leah Phelps, Jen Simonetti, and Tesia Kozlowski. Along with their teammates, they jumped on GW early and applied relentless pressure on the Colonial goal mouth just moments into the game. After five minutes, only several shot blocks, deflections, and nice saves from Colonial GK Anna Handzlik kept the game from being 2-0 or better in favor of the Flyers. Nothing changed as the half continued because UD completely owned the time of possession and had free space to bring the ball forward until pressure was applied 35yds from goal. With GW’s defensive marking deficiencies apparent, the home team worked the ball inside-out and attacked from the flanks. Several quality balls were played into the penalty box, and UD made excellent contact to put shots on goal. As the half continued, Dayton’s chances came and went, but it was more a result of bad luck than poor execution. Whatever UD did, GW seemed to have a foot in the right place and at the right time to keep the Flyers off the scoreboard. Even a few defensive clears off the goal line gave Flyer fans some frustration.

The players never let the frustration get the better of them however, and paydirt came in the 21st minute when junior Katie Lowstuter sent a beautiful ball to Reba Sedlacek who made a near-post run. Sedlacek flicked the ball off a one-touch past the charging goalkeeper and freshman Natalia Walters crashed an open goal for a diving header to put UD up 1-0. It was textbook execution all around and one of the better goals of the 2004 season.

The girls from Foggy Bottom were in trouble from the start, but now it was dire straits because they allowed UD to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted to. Down a goal and having trouble crossing midfield, there were few opportunities to even think about finding an equalizer. Strange things happen though and the Colonials had their chance three minutes after Walters’ tally when a striker got behind the Dayton defense on a through-ball taken from the midfield. Junior defender Jacqueline Luehrs chased, but fouled Sarah Sample in the penalty box from 15yds out on the right side. It was an unnecessary takedown because the GW player was running away from goal and UD had defensive support retreating behind to help out. Fortunately, senior GK Stacy DeLuca came up huge by stopping the penalty kick from Sample, preserving UD’s 1-0 lead and letting Luehrs off the hook. It was one of just two first half shots for GW.

Dayton continued to apply the clamps and had several quality combinations from the midfielders that moved the ball forward while GW players lagged behind. The Colonials did exceedingly well to defend UD’s 16 first half shots, but luck was on their side more so than stingy defense. While GW surrendered three or more goals just twice coming into Sunday afternoon’s match, only the best of luck kept them from being down 4-0 at intermission. Clearly, UD’s offensive players were doing all the things necessary to tally goals. UD took the 1-0 lead into halftime.

The better of play remained in UD’s favor for the second half, but it lacked the sizzle of the first 45 minutes. Some of that was due in part to several new lineups on the field and some liberal substitution patterns, but GW showed some more organization and stepped up their game. Offensively, the Colonials looked semi-dangerous for the first time all day and managed to get the ball downfield on a few occasions that required some defensive tackles or well-timed clears to keep the shutout going. And for a 10-minute stretch, GW played Dayton pretty even. But it didn’t last and the Flyers’ depth and overall talent was never in check.

Lowstuter notched UD’s second goal in the 65th minute off a free kick from 20yds out that slipped through traffic and found the far post on the left side. A terrific flurry of shots in the same timeframe also looked goal-certain, but a timely GW clear and an unfriendly near post turned the Flyers away. UD’s third and final score would come in the 80th minute when 6-0 freshman Courtney Sirmans cleaned up a loose ball in the box after a UD corner kick. Up 3-0, the only thing left was preserving the shutout and heading home to celebrate.

For the match, Dayton outshot GW 27-6 and blanked them 7-0 in corner kicks. The Flyers were very solid, especially in the first half when they made GW look awful. The second half didn’t have as many sparks and perhaps that’s part of the problem when dominating mid-pack conference teams can come so easy. Unless GW gets the same good fortune and some help from the referee, they will continue to struggle against the Flyers. In fact, it seems like forever since the Colonials have even found the beck of the net against Head Coach Mike Tucker’s squad.

Freshman Natalia Walters continues to make progress. She got the starting nod at striker again and is starting to open up space of her own with some dynamic ability with the ball at her feet. Fellow frosh Amy Lopez has come off the bench over the last several matches and has cooled off a bit after a great start. The surprise of the last two matches however has been freshman Alli Foust, a midfielder from Fort Worth, TX. Foust played against Richmond on Friday and won several 50/50 challenges in the air. The staff rewarded the effort — and deservedly so — with more playing time in today’s game and Foust picked up where she left off. A bit crafty, she seems to see the field well and uses her size to play physical, digging out balls and winning possession.

Junior Katie Lowstuter, while cashing in on the free kick and beign credited with an assist on the fitst goal, was held somewhat in check today after being on a tear of late. She had support from others around her to pick up the slack and that carried over into the defense as the back line punched their timecard and worked for a day’s pay as they have all season.

All told, the last home game for UD’s seniors was a fitting end to the legacy they leave. Four A-10 regular season titles, two A-10 tournament titles with another dangling like a carrot, three NCAA tournament appearances with another on the horizon, the program’s two longest winning streaks, and one Sweet Sixteen showing. That resume’ stacks up against any class in program history.

Dayton goes for a second undefeated conference record in four seasons next weekend with matches on the road at Fordham and LaSalle. On paper, neither of these foes should get within a sniff of an upset if UD brings the heat and goes to work from the opening kickoff. After that, it’s A10 tournament time and the Flyers have the top seed already wrapped up. At this point, an NCAA at-large birth is pretty much in the back pocket, but knowing what we know about the league and UD’s dominance thus far, it’s fair to say the satisfying goal at this point is cleaning house in the league and taking the nation’s longest winning streak straight into the NCAAs. Should that happen, the Flyers might have an outside chance at hosting a first/second round regional. We think it’s a longshot at best, but that talk is premature because there’s work still to be done.

Check the women’s soccer forum on the UDPride Message Board soon for photos from today’s match.