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WSOC: Flyers Top UMass 3-1 in Mike Tucker's Final Home Game
WSOC: Flyers Top UMass 3-1 in Mike Tucker's Final Home Game
Christopher Rieman
Published by Chris R
10-30-2016
Smile WSOC: Flyers Top UMass 3-1 in Mike Tucker's Final Home Game

The Dayton Flyers women's soccer season was extended by at least one game as they qualified for the A10 Tournament with a 3-1 victory over UMass on Sunday afternoon at Baujan Field. In a must-win game to keep the season alive, Alexis Kiehl netted a hat trick and Libby Leedom added two assists to win the final home game of Head Coach Mike Tucker's career. The conference tourney berth also extended UD's streak of qualifying for the league postseason tourney every season since 1996.

On a day with many storylines, Tucker and longtime assistant coach George Demetriades were honored before the game for their service to the program. Once the hugs and handshakes were over, it was time to get to work because there was plenty to play for.

Likely needing an outright victory to qualify for the A10 Tourney, the Flyers knew what had to be done. And it didn't take long to get started.

Alexis Kiehl slipped past a UMass defender on a give-and-go from Libby Leedom in front of the Minutewomen goal box. The Flyers' leading scorer poked a ball past GK Cassidy Babin to put UD head 1-0 just two minutes after kickoff. It was the perfect start to what was ultimately an unofficial single-elimination preliminary round conference tourney match.

Dayton didn't let off the gas however. They continued to generate a solid push forward, once again looking for Kiehl running into free space or isolated against a single defender. Several passes and through-balls to Kiehl nearly cashed in. A number of near-misses or last-second deflections by the UMass back line kept the score 1-0 as the half continued.

UMass countered with some effective possession of their own, getting deep into Flyer territory on several occasions that produced dangerous scoring chances inside the box. Two scrums in particular at the six-yard line nearly caught the Flyers on the losing end of a toe-poking joust. Some timely deflections and last-second clearances saved the day and protected the one-goal lead. Dayton was not done defending however as free kicks and corner kicks required additional clearances as well. For a UMass team with just one conference victory, they had enough half-chances to sneak in an equalizer but were unable to get shots on frame.

Thankfully, UD continued to make timely tackles in the defensive third, transitioning the possession into high balls placed down the touch lines for teammates running into free space. Kiehl nearly got loose on a couple more occasions to add to her stats, but UMass did just enough to turn those chances away -- at least until the 36th minute when she outfought a ball from 12yds out and redirected it to an unguarded net to make the score 2-0.

With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, UD was exactly where they wanted to be -- firmly in control and literally one additional goal in the second half from UMass folding their tents for good.

Halftime stats favored UD in shots 7-1, while UMass earned a 3-1 corner kick advantage.

The second half re-start was sluggish, and Mike Tucker sensed it. Encouraging his players to be more aggressive to loose balls, the messaging was hit-or-miss in the opening minutes of final frame. To their credit, the Minutewomen stepped up their pace and got in front of Flyer passing lanes to win possession and push players forward. Their work rate forced UD's defense to protect their goal box for extended periods, limiting Dayton's own offensive punch on the other end of the field. As the second half continued, spacing, communication, and work rate remained a struggle. It wasn't that UD was hemorrhaging, but a few players took their foot off the gas and it affected the overall run of play.

That mistake eventually cost Dayton in the 57th minute. Persistent UMass pressure in front of the Flyer goal box eventually led to some loose marking and confusion. Massachusetts slotted a ball past GK Kaelyn Johns to make the score 2-1 and suddenly the match was up for grabs again. The Flyers couldn't afford another tie either -- they wanted an outright victory to ensure A10 postseason bracketing and didn't want to make other Sunday conference match results relevant.

It took another 10 minutes for the Flyers to regain their form and settle down. Once they did, the possession got better -- helped in part by better spacing and distribution to the touch lines. As Dayton played wider, the field opened up. Players found gaps to exploit in the final third, allowing UD to place crosses in the box from either the corner flags or curling baseline turns. Dayton had several quality chances to regain the one-goal lead, including a shot off the near post from long distance that had the goalkeeper beaten.

The Flyer persistence was rewarded however and once again Alexis Kiehl did the honors with a top-shelf finish from the right side of the goal box after Caroline Mink and Keagin Collie freed her up. With the score 3-1 in the 81st minute, Kiehl's hat trick effectively put the match on ice and Dayton milked the remainder of the clock to preserve the win.

UD outshot UMass 17-6, but just 5-2 in shots on goal.

Kiehl finishes the regular season with 15 goals (of the team's 28 overall) -- good enough for second-best in the A10 and a spot on the 1st or 2nd Team All-Conference postseason awards list. More importantly, UD extends the season and extends Mike Tucker's Flyer coaching career for at least one more game. Based on Sunday's results around the league, it appears UD will earn the #7 seed and play #2 St. Louis next week. Regardless of seeding, Dayton has their work cut out for them. They failed to beat any of the conference opponents in the regular season that ultimately qualified for the A10 tourney with a higher seed. Perhaps with few people expecting much from the Flyers, it's a perfect opportunity to catch lightning in a bottle, eradicate the bugbaoos from the regular season that cost Dayton a few results, and put all the pieces together for one last magical run for their head coach.

Dayton must play better and demonstrate in ability to do things in the conference tourney they were unable to do in the regular season. As fans saw last year however when the top two seeds were beaten in the opening round, weird things happen in single-elimination tournaments. The biggest key is to score the first goal in each match and keep the GAA under 1.00. Teams bunker in the postseason. The Flyers have a chance if they can keep the score down -- but that's their only realistic chance. And someone other than Alexis Kiehl may be forced to score a game-winner.
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