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WSOC: Late Goals Give UD 5-2 Win Over Duquesne
WSOC: Late Goals Give UD 5-2 Win Over Duquesne
Christopher Rieman
Published by Chris R
10-29-2015
Smile WSOC: Late Goals Give UD 5-2 Win Over Duquesne

It wasn't how Head Coach Mike Tucker drew it up on the whiteboard, but the Dayton Flyers nonetheless did enough things right to earn a hard-fought 5-2 victory over the Duquesne Dukes on a chilly Thursday evening at Baujan Field. After leading 2-0 at halftime, the Dukes tied the match at 2-2 but couldn't hold the Dayton offense in check over the final 30 minutes, surrendering three goals while falling to 9-9-0 (4-5-0) in the process. The Flyers reach .500 for the first time all season at 9-9-0 (7-2-0).

UD got off to a solid start directly after kickoff, controlling most of the possession and getting numbers forward on offense. The Dukes had trouble maintaining any meaningful possession of their own, falling into a defensive posture in their own half of the field. Ashley Campbell and Alexis Kiehl found holes up top to probe the Duquesne defense, while MF Nicole Waters had enough time and space to slot balls to teammates in dangerous positions ahead of her.

The result of the sustained possession produced numerous balls in the Dukes' goal box, eventually resulting in a Flyer goal in the 14th minute when Alexis Kiehl cleaned up loose change in the box shortly after a Dayton corner kick to put UD up 1-0.

Dayton remained dominant over the next 15 minutes, though not quite as overwhelming as they might have been -- victims of several self-inflicted bugaboos in the central third of the pitch. That said, Duquesne generated very little offense of their own and were more or less at the mercy of the Flyers' own execution rather than creating chances out of their own play.

Beth Kamphaus tattooed a ball in the 31st minute from long range that forced a high mitt save from Dukes GK Kyra Murphy. A fine save indeed, but the rebound off her gloves landed directly in front of the box where Ashley Campbell was crashing for a rebound. The easy tap-in from the senior forward put UD up 2-0 with 15 minutes left to play in the first half.

With a comfortable lead, the Flyers had additional chances to effectively put the match away for good by scoring once more before intermission. They had a number of solid chances too, but at other times were short-changed by their own sloppy passing that snuffed out other quality goal-scoring opportunities. UD made the two-goal lead stand heading into halftime on the heels of a commanding 17-3 advantage in shots and 4-2 edge in corner kicks.

Duquesne consumed a box of Wheaties and changed their attitude as the second half got underway. Quicker to the ball and more physical, the Dukes gave the Flyers a lot of trouble over the first 15 minutes of the final frame. Unable to connect passes out of the back, win loose balls in the central third, and find open players up top, Duquesne suddenly turned UD's misfortune into opportunities of their own -- and some of that misfortune should be credited to Duquesne for making things far more difficult than the first half. Still, Dayton clearly lost a step over the halftime break and also a sizable degree of physicality.

The Dukes took advantage as the loose-ball winners turned into Duquesne scoring opportunities in the offensive third. No single opportunity stood out, but the aggregate of the consistent offensive pressure eventually cracked the Flyer defense in the 54th minute after GK Kaelyn Johns made a solid tip save but couldn't get a clearance from her defense. Duquesne knocked in the garbage from short-range to cut the Flyer lead to 2-1.

The Dukes tied it up less than two minutes later on a quality dribble-drive from midfield that beat the Flyer outside back around the corner of the box and resulted in a shot to the far left post that knotted the match at 2-2. While the one vs. one defending was inept, UD was once again the victim of suspect ball-winning near the center circle that eventually allowed the Duquesne offense to push forward unnecessarily.

With UD's battleship listing to the side and their form falling apart, it was "go" time for the Canadian seniors. Waters re-collected possession on the right side and crossed a ball into the left portion of the box that Ashley Campbell pounced on from short-range. The Duquesne goalkeeper saved the first attempt but Campbell punched the deflected save into the net to put UD back on top 3-2 in the 64th minute.

The seniors switched roles in the 73rd minute on a set piece from 20yds out. Campbell toe-poked a free kick just right of the Duquesne wall, allowing Waters to step into the free-kick opportunity without dealing with the obstruction. She slotted the ball to the lower post to put UD up 4-2 and out of danger.

Meghan Blank added a fifth goal just 21 seconds later by cleaning up a carom off the post to give the Flyers a 5-2 lead. The rout was officially "on" about as quickly as the match had turned decidedly uncomfortable.

UD had additional scoring chances over the final 15 minutes but couldn't cash in. Waters pinged the crossbar from long range, while other balls in the Dukes goal box proved equally dangerous but to no avail.

Second half shots were in favor of UD 18-11, indicative of the more competitive run of play and additional fireworks over the last 45 minutes. Corner kicks were 3-3 after intermission.

Dayton demonstrated why they are probably the most dangerous and most feared team heading into the A10 Tournament. The ability to score goals puts them atop the conference stats by a considerable margin and no other A10 program has a pair of players capable of creating magic like the Shock-and-Awe Canadian duo of Campbell and Waters. Yet the match was also a case study in why the Flyers have one of the lowest basements of teams still fighting for an A10 tournament berth. Dayton continues to concede goals at an alarming rate and some of the basic defending fundamentals in the defensive half of the field remain highly suspect over a full 90 minutes.

On Thursday night, UD suffered mightily in the central third of the pitch as they lost possession of the ball with sloppy passing, got out-worked for 50/50 challenges, and got spotty help from their back line on poor service from the fullbacks. No single miscue causes Dayton indigestion. Rather, it's death by a thousand cuts. If they can hold those small but compounding mistakes in check over the next two weeks, they have a chance to win the tournament. There's plenty of talent on offense to score enough goals.

UD finishes the regular season at UMass on Sunday afternoon.
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  #1  
By soccerflyer on 10-30-2015, 12:13 AM
Great article! However, I must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Chris R again.
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