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Oakland Slips Past Dayton 1-0
Oakland Slips Past Dayton 1-0
Christopher Rieman
Published by Chris R
09-29-2010
Oakland Slips Past Dayton 1-0

DAYTON (OH) -- A first half goal was all it took as the Oakland Grizzlies defeated the Dayton Flyers 1-0 Wednesday evening at Baujan Field. A lack of solid scoring chances all night drops the Flyers to 3-4-1 while the Grizz improve to 3-5-0.

Entering the match with just two wins in seven matches, Oakland benefited from a tough early schedule against nationally-ranked Drake, UC-Irvine, and Butler. The Grizz topped Drake 1-0 and will take on #1 Akron next week, so the Flyers were a perfect chance for Oakland to flex their muscles from the stiffer non-con competition.

Not long after kickoff, both teams spent a few minutes shaking things out and testing the waters on offense. The Grizzlies looked quicker to the ball in the central third of the field and possession gained from the solid work allowed them to push into the Flyer box for scoring chances.

The first and only goal of the match came in the 13th minute off a lost 50/50 ball near midfield by the Flyers. Oakland turned the ball around and pushed a properly-weighted pass to the right side of the box for a great look at the net. It forced UD goalkeeper Tyler Picard to challenge a few steps off the goal line. A couple bounces later, Oakland re-directed the ball into an empty net for the 1-0 advantage.

As the first half continued, Oakland had several more quality scoring chances, but the Flyers were fortunate to make a last-second tackle or clean block of the ball to keep the deficit at 1-0.

On offense, UD had trouble generating meaningful possession. Unable to link passes up between teammates, Dayton preferred long ball and most of those ended up getting picked off by the Oakland back line. A lack of patience and little production from the UD midfield left the Dayton back line with few options when playing the ball forward. That put the Flyer strikers in a tough position to win difficult balls in the air while being double-teamed.

By halftime, the Grizzlies had a 12-4 advantage in shots on goal, while corner kicks also favored OU 3-2.

The second half suffered from much of the same inadequacies of the first half for the Flyers, though they did manage to win more balls in the air and establish some solid pushes into the Oakland defensive half of the field. The midfield continued to struggle with being the conduit from defense to offense. Players seemed content running laterally or completely away from the ball, rather than direct runs straight to teammates offering a quality receive of service.

The match grew more physical in the latter 25 minutes of the second half and to their credit the Flyers responded with some good hustle. The problem was, all of that hard work was hardly working. Oakland continued to keep a good shape in their back line and never allowed opposing strikers for Dayton to run directly on goal or slip behind with a through-ball.

The Flyers had a flurry of long throw-ins and free kicks in the box over the last 10 minutes, but couldn't cash in for the equalizer. Perhaps the best chance of the evening came on a low cross from the right side that found the feet of a UD attacking player at the six yard line, but a one-touch redirect was required and too many touches allowed the Grizzlies to clear the dangerous chance away and preserve the 1-0 cushion. The match ended much like it started -- lots of effort at times, but a lack of focus to make all the running around purposeful. The Flyers only had one or two solid scoring chances all night.

Match stats evened up as UD did better in the second half to get forward. Shots ended up 18-14 in favor of Oakland while corner kicks were six a piece.

Dayton remains a work-in-progress and with so many new, young players learning on the job, that process is likely to take all season to hammer out. UD's inability (or unwillingness) to play the ball on the ground will remain a problem as long as the midfield continues to disappear in long stretches. The lack of passing and one-twos in the middle third put the defenders and strikers in the awkward position of playing kick ball with one another for 90 minutes and avoiding the midfield altogether. With the ball in the air, Dayton struggles to maintain possession and create any build-up. Not that a quick-strike offense is a bad thing, but Dayton hasn't sold out on winning with singles and doubles rather than going for the home run on every kick of the ball.

Freshman Andres Acevedo stood out Wednesday night for his tireless motor. Fans are already recognizing that Acevedo gives 110% every match and is willing to track back on defense to help dig balls out. While Acevedo is not unlike the other newcomers in committing mistakes at times, his mistakes are at full-speed, and that's something coaches don't mind!

Dayton remains at home to wrap up the non-con schedule as they take on Canisius on Sunday afternoon at 3pm as the second match of a doubleheader with the UD women's soccer team.
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