Dayton Evens Series with WSU After 1-0 Win

DAYTON (OH) -- There was a time when Wright State's men's soccer program dominated the Dayton Flyers. Players like Hylton Dayes and coaches like Greg Andrulis put the Raiders on the regional soccer map as one of the best D-II and mid-major D-I programs in the country. All that has changed as UD evened the long-standing series at 16-16-3 with a hard-fought 1-0 victory in front of 542 fans at Baujan Field. Freshman Jack Pearson knocked a soft but well-placed header to the far post in the 13th minute that proved to be the difference. The Flyers improve to 2-0 (0-0) while WSU falls to 0-2 (0-0),

The Flyers, now 8-0-1 against the Raiders since 1999, took advantage of some great hustle by sophomore Josh Albers along the right touch line as the match started. Albers was all over the field and did well to get behind the WSU back line time and again to create dangerous scoring chances for Dayton. His teammates backed it up with some nice touches in the midfield to spring him loose and send through balls down the right side.

Looking a step slow at times, Wright State had trouble with the pressure and their defenders struggled to clear balls and find teammates in a green shirt to work the ball out of the back. The Flyer pressure helped Pearson get his first career goal in the 13th minute when he redirected a free kick from Sonny Renner to the far post from 15yds out that fooled Raider goalkeeper Matt Koewler and trickled inside the post. From there, Dayton seemed in command, though shots on goal were few and far between. At times, UD settled too easily for the long ball and that was apparent several times when players reached midfield. The stripe seemed like a mental barrier for stretches and needless possession was given away when WSU strikers played in a soft defensive posture in the middle of the field.

Defensively, Dayton was sharp. Whenever WSU challenged the UD penalty box, defenders countered with a physical style and dug out a bunch of balls that could have turned scary. As the half wore on, WSU attackers appeared to reach a frustration point and some of that aggravation was directed at their own back line -- a line that did not do well to find target players in the offensive half of the field. WSU's best chance came on a rocket from 25yds out that goalkeeper Alex Davis got a fingertip on and deflected off the crossbar.

Up 1-0 at halftime, UD appeared in control despite the lack of shots to challenge Koewler in goal, but a first-half injury to Albers meant UD had to find another energy player to spark the play.

The match changed momentum in the 63rd minute when freshman Luke Baker was summoned with a direct red card in response to a tackle near midfield. The foul seemed far less dangerous than a Pearson yellow card three minutes earlier, but referee Jeff Melon saw something different and put the Raiders up a man with just under 30 minutes to play.

Dayton responded and dug their heels in. Wright State established far more possession after the foul, but couldn't use the player advantage to solve UD's defensive line. The fullbacks received a lot of help from midfielders tracking back and with a collective posture to protect the Flyer goal, UD never looked completely lost or on life support in spite of the numbers. The remaining minutes of the match turned ragged, but that played right into UD's hands as they milked the clock by continuing to send long balls down field.

Wright State outshot Dayton 13-8 and earned seven corner kicks to UD's six, but Dayton looked like the more polished side. Fitness looked very good and the Flyers seemed to anticipate better when loose balls were fought for. Junior Alex Torda didn't get a lot of touches or space to make things happen. Minus Randy Dennis in the back line for the second match in a row, the defense of Sonny Renner, Tommy Watkins, and Ryan Handbury displayed good depth and made a strong showing from start to finish. The Raiders found the net twice against Wisconsin on Friday night before falling in extra time, which makes UD's defensive effort even more satisfying. Alex Davis had a very solid afternoon in goal and was where he needed to be every time it mattered.

UD travels to Madison, WI, next weekend for matches against regional power Milwaukee and host Wisconsin.