Flyers sweep SBU this weekend

[Chris R]

Golz' team swept St. Bonaventure this weekend 5-1 on Thursday and 2-0 this afternoon at Baujan. The Bonnies goal on THU was their first and only goal of the season so they are obviously winless (and terrible).

The Thursday game was streamed but not todays match. I watched Thursday and we looked REALLY solid. Moved the ball around well, got a couple early goals and then mostly coasted in the second half by adding some insurance. The goal we gave up was a botch defensive sequence with our backs and GK as a set piece ball was kicked into the box and went untouched on one hop into the net. Everybody thought there would be a tough but there wasnt.

Gemelli continued to stay hot with two more goals. Going into today's match she was leading the league in goals (8). Pretty good for a frosh.

Today's game was StatTracker only but looked like much the same from the box. Both goals were on PKs so nothing in the run of play which is a little disappointing - but we dominated in shots 24-2 and corner kicks 6-0 so we did everything but put it in the net. And Golz played 21 players so he spread the minutes around.

The two wins put us at 7-3-1 (4-1-1) heading into the final two games of the season at Saint Louis next week. SLU is responsible for our only loss in league play. Right now we're sitting comfortable in 2nd place in the newfangled Covid West division behind SLU. I think the top two teams in each of the three divisions make the A10 Tourney so we should already have our ticket punched. SLU is 6-0 and best of anyone in the A10, but Dayton is 4-1-1 and the only other team with fewer than 2 losses and the next best overall winning percentage. Its REAL tough to gauge just how good everyone is because teams only played within their divisions. That meant we played Duquesne twice, SLU 3 times, and SBU three times. SBU is the worst team in the A10. Duquesne is not good either. But we played SLU really tough in the earlier match.

On paper it might suggest UD is the 2nd best team in the A10 at this stage but we have not gone up against LaSalle and UMass and Davidson and I think their pods have been overall tougher than ours -- though there is no SLU type team in any other division but ours.

These next two SLU games should be good barometers in how much progress we've made. Was the last game vs the Bills just a flash in the pan or can we honestly hang with a Top-20 team in terms of tactics, possession, and run of play (regardless of score?). This as much as anything else will tell us how far we've come this year.

One last thing. After the SBU match on Thursday Golz talked about his team and described them as a good team. Hes pretty reserved in heaping unearned praise and this is the first time since he's taken over the program that I can remember him labeling the team a strong talented side. This tells me he likes what he's seeing but more importantly he feels more comfortable placing additional responsibility on them in terms of performance expectations. We are still so young, but the talent pool has seen a major upgrade in the last two recruiting cycles.

	St Bonaventure SAINT BONAVENTURE Founded in 1858, St. Bonaventure University is a liberal arts college located on 500 acres in southwestern New York state. SBU offers 43 undergraduate majors, the most popular of which are elementary education, journalism, psychology, accounting, marketing, finance, and management. Total undergraduate enrollment is 2,000. Virtually all freshmen and most undergraduates live on campus. A founding member of the A10 Conference. Famous athletes include Bob Lanier. Historical nickname was the Brown Indians, but later changed to the Bonnies. Their mascot is a wolf.

	Massachusetts MASSACHUSETTS UMass Amherst, the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, 90 miles from Boston and 175 miles from New York City. The campus provides a rich cultural environment in a rural setting close to major urban centers. UMass enrolls over 20,000 undergraduates and 5,000 post-grad students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Minutemen. Women's teams known as the Minutewomen. Sports achievements include NCAA Final Four appearances in men's basketball and women's soccer.

	Duquesne DUQUESNE Duquesne University is a private, coeducational university, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania located on 48 secluded acres, on a bluff above downtown. Founded in 1878 as a Catholic college by the Order of the Holy Spirit. It is the only Spiritan institution of higher education in the world. Duquesne offers 10 schools of study and 100 degree programs to 6,000 undergraduates and 3,800 graduate students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Dukes.

	LaSalle LA SALLE In 1863, La Salle University was established through the legacy of St. John Baptist de La Salle and the Christian Brothers teaching order, which De La Salle founded 300 years ago. Located in Philadelphia, La Salle is an educational community shaped by traditional Catholic and Lasallian values. La Salle's main campus is an ideal place for students to pursue an education. The 130-acre park-like setting includes 54 buildings and is located approximately six miles from Center City Philadelphia. The University can accommodate 2,114 resident students in its 12 residence halls, two apartment complexes, and 75 townhouses. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Explorers. Notable athletes include Tom Gola and Lionel Simmons.

	Saint Louis SAINT LOUIS Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,700 students. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Located in St. Louis, MO, and just five minutes from the Gateway Arch, SLU offers 85 undergraduate programs and over 50 graduate study tracks. Over 99% of the SLU faculty hold the highest degree in their respective fields. Fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Billikens, but also commonly known as "Sloo", the phonetic pronunciation of the school's initials. Athletic claims to fame include multiple national titles in men's soccer and men's basketball star Larry Hughes.

[soccerflyer]

Originally Posted by Chris R Right now we're sitting comfortable in 2nd place in the newfangled Covid West division behind SLU. I think the top two teams in each of the three divisions make the A10 Tourney so we should already have our ticket punched. SLU is 6-0 and best of anyone in the A10, but Dayton is 4-1-1 and the only other team with fewer than 2 losses and the next best overall winning percentage.

Check that. Only 4 teams qualify. SLU is the only team that has clinched an appearance in the semifinals. Dayton has to at least split or draw in this upcoming road series to keep pace with the other divisions, particularly the A10 North where three of the five teams are still in the running.

Because of COVID cancellation in the Fordham-La Salle match, I am not sure what will happen if UMass finishes 5-2-1, and La Salle finishes 5-2. Another possible scenario is UMass at 4-2-2, and Fordham/La Salle at 4-2-1. Normally you'd tip UMass the bid with 1 more pts than the other team. But they are supposedly going by "conference winning percentage." As such, the umass tie won't count favorably. It might even go in as half of a win, in which case 5 wins in 7 games is actually 2 hundredths better than 5 wins and a tie in 8 games? (Unofficially. ) I am sure that the tiebreakers are going to be more complicated than usual. I would have thought Fordham/La Salle should have announced a make-up by now if they were going to, but in a normal season, it is possible they would wait to announce it until it became meaningful for playoff implications. If I recall right, softball has a "no makeups" rule even before COVID but I remember soccer going to greater lengths in past years to make up contests to allow some semblance of schedule parity.

Long story short, Dayton has control of its destiny, but it is by no means a comfortable situation to be in. And even if Dayton gets the 4th seed, the reward would appear to be a third straight match at St Louis...

	Massachusetts MASSACHUSETTS UMass Amherst, the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, 90 miles from Boston and 175 miles from New York City. The campus provides a rich cultural environment in a rural setting close to major urban centers. UMass enrolls over 20,000 undergraduates and 5,000 post-grad students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Minutemen. Women's teams known as the Minutewomen. Sports achievements include NCAA Final Four appearances in men's basketball and women's soccer.

	Fordham FORDHAM Fordham University is an independent Jesuit university established in 1841 as St. John's College on old Rose Hill Manor in the village of Fordham, then part of Westchester County in the Bronx, NY. The name Fordham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words "ford" and "ham," meaning a wading place or ford by a settlement. Rose Hill is the name given to the site in 1787 by Robert Watts, a wealthy New York merchant, in honor of his family's ancestral home of the same name in Scotland. The College was originally staffed by diocesan clergy. The name was officially changed to Fordham University in 1907. Fordham's 10 schools enroll 14,448 students. There are 7,652 undergraduates, of whom 3,842 live in University-managed housing either on-campus or in the local community. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams. Athletic claim to fame is consistent mediocrity in nearly all sports and few A10 title winning programs.

	LaSalle LA SALLE In 1863, La Salle University was established through the legacy of St. John Baptist de La Salle and the Christian Brothers teaching order, which De La Salle founded 300 years ago. Located in Philadelphia, La Salle is an educational community shaped by traditional Catholic and Lasallian values. La Salle's main campus is an ideal place for students to pursue an education. The 130-acre park-like setting includes 54 buildings and is located approximately six miles from Center City Philadelphia. The University can accommodate 2,114 resident students in its 12 residence halls, two apartment complexes, and 75 townhouses. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Explorers. Notable athletes include Tom Gola and Lionel Simmons.

	Saint Louis SAINT LOUIS Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,700 students. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Located in St. Louis, MO, and just five minutes from the Gateway Arch, SLU offers 85 undergraduate programs and over 50 graduate study tracks. Over 99% of the SLU faculty hold the highest degree in their respective fields. Fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Billikens, but also commonly known as "Sloo", the phonetic pronunciation of the school's initials. Athletic claims to fame include multiple national titles in men's soccer and men's basketball star Larry Hughes.

[Chris R]

Dang! I thought it was six with a 2-team bye for the two highest winning % teams. Yeah we definitely have work to do and I think we are among the four best teams. But playing SLU three times is a tough ask to overcome when the A10 season was so short.

	Saint Louis SAINT LOUIS Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,700 students. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Located in St. Louis, MO, and just five minutes from the Gateway Arch, SLU offers 85 undergraduate programs and over 50 graduate study tracks. Over 99% of the SLU faculty hold the highest degree in their respective fields. Fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Billikens, but also commonly known as "Sloo", the phonetic pronunciation of the school's initials. Athletic claims to fame include multiple national titles in men's soccer and men's basketball star Larry Hughes.

[soccerflyer]

URI is on COVID pause. So it turns out scheduling URI on the tail end of your season is not the boon it was thought to be after all. I think this will mean the ceiling for La Salle is 4-2-0 instead of 5-2-0. VCU, still in contention also has a 4-2 ceiling. It does not look like the A10 has any plans to do makeup games or play in games, creating a lopsided situation where these two teams have 6 results but most everyone else played 8. Right now it is looking like 6 or 7 teams or so are still in contention for the last 3 spots after St Louis. Teams ranked any better than 4-2 appear to be safely in. Teams sitting at 4-2, or worse, may still need help from other results around the league. We shall see. Just win, baby.

	Rhode Island RHODE ISLAND The University of Rhode Island was chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888. The school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892. Located in southern Rhode Island, URI is a quintessential New England campus - rural in feeling yet close to the city of Providence, the state's capital. Linked to the city, the beaches, and nearly every corner of the state by both rail and public transit, the campus is easily accessible from Boston and New York URI currently offers 100 majors in seven degree-granting colleges. There are more than 12,000 students on the Kingston campus, about 3,000 in Providence, and a complement of about 700 faculty. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams.

	LaSalle LA SALLE In 1863, La Salle University was established through the legacy of St. John Baptist de La Salle and the Christian Brothers teaching order, which De La Salle founded 300 years ago. Located in Philadelphia, La Salle is an educational community shaped by traditional Catholic and Lasallian values. La Salle's main campus is an ideal place for students to pursue an education. The 130-acre park-like setting includes 54 buildings and is located approximately six miles from Center City Philadelphia. The University can accommodate 2,114 resident students in its 12 residence halls, two apartment complexes, and 75 townhouses. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Explorers. Notable athletes include Tom Gola and Lionel Simmons.

	Saint Louis SAINT LOUIS Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,700 students. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Located in St. Louis, MO, and just five minutes from the Gateway Arch, SLU offers 85 undergraduate programs and over 50 graduate study tracks. Over 99% of the SLU faculty hold the highest degree in their respective fields. Fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Billikens, but also commonly known as "Sloo", the phonetic pronunciation of the school's initials. Athletic claims to fame include multiple national titles in men's soccer and men's basketball star Larry Hughes.