The Dayton Flyers struck with four first half goals and added another in the second half as they took apart the St. Joseph’s Hawks 5-1 Sunday afternoon before 441 fans at Baujan Field. The Flyers remain perfect in A-10 play with a 7-3-1 (3-0) record, while the Hawks fall to 3-5-1 (1-2).

Contrasted with Friday night’s match against Temple, Dayton got out of the gates quickly and played one of their best halves of the season against St. Joseph’s in the first 45 minutes of the game. UD was much sharper on Sunday and it helped the home team get the match off to a very good start. Freshman Jamie Yates took a serve in the box and redirected it past Hawk GK Nicole Dienna for the first score of the game in the seventh minute. Reba Sedlacek and Beth McHugh were credited with assists. For Yates, it was her fourth goal of the season. The second Flyer goal didn’t come until the 24th minute, but in between Dayton executed very well and played smart soccer, shifting balls to the weak side and attacking with balls served to dangerous frontrunner Beth McHugh. Dayton not only looked much better than two days ago, they were played better soccer against a better team as SJU showed why they are head and shoulders better than Temple — and team they beat just a week ago by a 3-1 score. But it didn’t matter because Coach Tucker’s players raised the bar and though the Hawks showed some solid skills, playmaking, and soccer IQ, they were clearly outmatched as the first half wore on.

The 24th minute goal and the second Flyer goal of the game came on a superb ball off the foot of junior Tesia Kozlowski who buried into the upper 90 of the far post from 18yds out. Hard to believe, but it was Kozlowski’s first goal of the year to go with her season total of a team-best four assists. Just two minutes later, senior Shannon Kuhl pounced on a loose ball in front of the Hawk goalmouth from 3yds out to with the Flyers a 3-0 advantage in the 26th minute of play.

Dayton’s fourth and final goal of the half came on a bit of good luck, but hustle usually leads to good fortune and Beth McHugh was the reason. McHugh chased down a long ball on the right side and saved it just in time to cross a low rocket in the box that found a Hawk defender running toward the ball. The ball buried off her and into the nets for an own-goal in the 32nd minute, but credit should be given to McHugh for not giving up on a ball and forcing SJU into a mistake that otherwise would not have happened had she given up on the long ball.

From there on, Dayton had a couple more solid chances to tack on a fifth first half score, but SJU hung in there, and despite being four goals down, showed some excellent skills at times and looked like a program that could finished .500 in league play when everything is said and done. UD outshot SJU 13-2 in the first half as GK Sarah West made just one save. SJU defenders played tough and got a lot out of their talents including Tisha Paine, but couldn’t keep pace in the first half when the match was settled.

The second half played out much like the final 45 minutes on Friday night. Dayton substituted liberally and gave many players a chance to prove themselves. Play deteriorated and by and large the Flyers coasted. The Hawks pieced together some nice possession at times and had a couple chances of their own to get on the scoreboard. Their persistence finally paid off in the 71st minute when UD got whistled for a foul in the box that resulted in a Megan Schutt PK that she easily converted to squash any thoughts of a shutout. At 4-1, Dayton was never threatened but ended up playing lateral soccer, rather than moving forward when space was there and attacking SJU with north-south balls and overlaps. The Flyers also lost some of their patience and didn’t connect the dots as well as they did in the first half. But the match was never in doubt and perhaps that reality left everyone less interested as the game wore on.

Dayton did manage three or four strong scoring chances, but had trouble finishing in the box, especially on scrambles for loose balls. The Hawks were lucky however as UD hit the post on two shots and Jacqueline Luehrs had a nice redirect from 25yds out that nearly found the upper 90 of the far post. Instead, GK Stef Luicci, who came into the match late in the first half, made a fingertip save to deny Luehrs her first goal of the year.

Sweeper Erin Showalter finished off the scoring in the 89th minute on a rebound right in front of the box that tore the nets up. For Showalter, it was her third score of the year and it capped off the Flyer scoring to give UD a 5-1 victory. GK Stacy Deluca polished off the second half with two saves and one goal against on the PK. UD outshot SJU 25-6 for the match and earned a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks.

While the second half was messy at times, the Flyers brought the heat in the first half which is when it all mattered. UD looked much better during this time and outplayed SJU by a greater margin in the first 45 minutes than they did on Friday against a less-competitive opponent. Clearly, Dayton stepped up and for the most part the team was on the same page. As the subs came in, things tailed off some, but some of the starters returned to the match late in the game and helped restore order. It was a good chance to give 19 players some action, but the top 13-14 players do not looked threatened at this point.

Nina DiGuardi came off the bench and played well in limited minutes while Judi Aschenbrener did as well and served several well-placed balls down the flanks to give UD some offensive punch. St. Joseph’s might have a budding star in midfielder Kimmy Leigh, a redshirt freshman who had no trouble playing at the level of Dayton players. In fact, she looked like a future All A-10 performer and could present some problems for Dayton in the coming years. Despite getting beat 5-1, SJU was well-coached, well organized, and understood the game. What they lacked in raw God-given talent and athleticism, they made up for in some nice creativity and opportunism. The Hawks might be turning the corner as a program in the next year or two.

Dayton held serve this weekend and scored 11 goals. That was good to see, but things get much tougher next weekend as UD goes on the road for matches at URI and UMass. Neither match will be easy and winning on the road takes a gritty effort. Dayton remains on the road the following weekend with matches at GW and Richmond. By the time Dayton returns home in three weeks, the A-10 regular season race will in all likelihood be decided. At 3-0, the Flyers are in a position to take the league crown and pull the rug from under these teams that have upset ideas. All four opponents are capable of up-ending Dayton. At the same time, Dayton can win all four. If UD plays their best ball, it’s hard to imagine UD not returning home with a 11-3-1 (7-0) record. It’s easier to say than do however but fans will know where UD stand in the A-10 race very soon.