DAYTON (OH) -- After 110 scoreless minutes, the Ohio State Buckeyes advanced to the Sweet 16 on their home turf, out-lasting the Dayton Flyers 4-2 in PKs on a chilly and blustery day at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The match officially enters the books as a tie as UD finishes the season at 19-3-1.
Dayton opened the match with their best soccer of the afternoon. In the first 12 minutes alone, they had more possession than they had in the entire match against Virginia Tech. Moving forward and linking up with combination passes, UD threatened along the touch lines and found players in open space looking to put something in the box. Over the next 10 minutes, the two rivals battled back and forth. Ohio State slowly turned the tables however and began earning corner kicks with help from a consistent wind at their backs. The elements and OSU's improved play pushed Dayton into their defensive half of the field. Over the remaining 20 minutes, little changed.
The Bucks got stronger as the half wore on, while the Flyers began to fade like a tire slowing losing air. Unable to win loose balls in the middle of the field, Ohio State controlled the central third of the pitch and that allowed their back line to push forward near midfield.
Defensively, marking turned into a major issue as the Flyers were chasing rather than holding shape and denying easy entry passes or dribble penetration toward the box. While OSU continued to put shots on goal and earn four first half corner kicks, UD had their hands full just protecting the goal mouth. Much of that first half success came on the hands of goalkeeper Lisa Rodgers. Rodgers came up huge on three different occasions and stoned two certain goal-line shots from point-blank range to maintain a clean sheet. Unfortunately, those were the only defensive highlights of the first half as the Flyers' lack of purpose toward the end of the first 45 minutes seemed to underscore the pressure OSU applied on goal.
Dayton's best first half scoring chances were on quick counters, but OSU did a great job of marking Colleen Williams and limiting her ability to shake loose. When UD tried to put long balls forward, they rolled past the end line or were too weak to reach their destination. Dayton couldn't find a sweet spot on their touches all day.
OSU out-shot Dayton 8-3 in the first half and controlled roughly 65% of the possession.
The second half was much like the first. It was clear however that Dayton was simply running out of gas. The Buckeyes were not as strong a foe as Virginia Tech on Friday night, but they did maintain their shape far better in the back line. The solid marking by the OSU defense limited UD's scoring chances to ambitious attempts from long range or a rare corner kick placed in the box. Dayton's best opportunity came mid-way through the second half during a flurry directly in front of the goal line, but OSU held tough and made the clearance to keep the score 0-0.
Over the last 25 minutes of regulation, there was nothing left in the tank. Dayton wasn't running on fumes, rather Head Coach
Mike Tucker was pushing the car to the nearest gas station. OSU began dominating in all facets including a complete control of the midfield. Senior Jerica DeWolfe did well early on, but was out of gas and had little help all afternoon from others to try to win 50/50 balls near the mid stripe.
As OSU started winning all the head balls and freebies in the central third, they pushed forward and forced Dayton to chase. UD's shape more or less fell apart and the Bucks were a step quicker on all parts of the field. At times, OSU carried the ball forward to midfield before finding resistance.
Rodgers once again came up huge however to keep Dayton in it. She stoned another shot on goal from four yards out, diving low with a kick-save that was eventually cleared by the UD back line. The Buckeyes hit the far post on another scoring opportunity -- the ball bounced back into the middle of the box but Dayton was Johnny on the Spot to once again keep the match scoreless.
After 90 minutes, OSU held a 19-7 advantage in shots on goal and 9-2 margin in corner kicks.
Over the next two overtimes, UD's lack of energy became even more pronounced. Ohio State out-shot UD 5-0 over the next 20 minutes and were rarely threatened defensively. Over the last five minutes, Dayton did well preserve the 0-0 score and take their chances in penalty kicks.
That's what ultimately happened, but Ohio State buried four quality PKs to UD's two to earn the victory and move on to the Regional Semifinals.
No question the Flyers had a real opportunity to advance Sunday afternoon against an opponent that was clearly not as physically dominant as Virginia Tech. Dayton did not play well, but it wasn't because they took the afternoon off. They simply ran the tank dry against the Hokies and had nothing left for the short turn-around against another quality opponent that packs more speed and muscle than most A10 foes UD is accustomed to. The Flyers give up 15lb and three inches at most positions on the field to NCAA-worthy BCS schools and after a long weekend, those bumps and bruises wore UD down.
It would be easy to fault the poor run of play and dismiss the result as that and nothing more, but Dayton was so tired even their minds were breaking down. The players wanted to compete, but the mind and body were totally spent. There's not much coaching or strategy that can change the situation when players hit the proverbial wall. On Sunday afternoon, UD hit the wall midway through the first half and by grinding it out on guts alone, they took a 3-0 loss in regulation and forced a PK shootout with a 50/50 chance to reach the Sweet 16. That says a lot about the kind of players UD brings into the program every year.
Fans can't ignore the terrific effort senior Ally Giner made over 95 minutes however. Even when others had tongues dragging, Giner came from her forward position on several occasions to get defensive and win tackles near the back line. At times she was the most active defender and forward, even if she was one of the few Flyers to get a substitution and a short breather.
Overall, the better team advanced based on Sunday's run of play. On another afternoon with more pep in the step, perhaps UD finds a way to win the match. OSU and Dayton are not light years apart in terms of talent. Physicality and speed are where things separate -- traits that are largely God-given.
Friday night's victory over the Hokies took a lot out of the Flyers, but that was a match Dayton could have lost as well. All things considered, UD probably reached the level of their talents -- and very few soccer teams are able to say that by year-end.
Sunday afternoon's match must be separated from the entire season however and digested for what it was -- one match only. The outcome takes nothing away from the terrific season in which the Flyers tied for the A10 regular season title, won the A10 tournament championship, advanced to the NCAA Second Round with a 3-0 win over an ACC foe, and cleaned up individual hardware with A10 Offensive, Midfielder, Defensive, and Coach of the Year honors. Finishing the year at 19-3-1, that's the second-most single season win total by a Flyer team in program history.
Finally, the UD senior class of Lisa Rodgers, Kelly Blumenschein, Ally Giner, Jerica DeWolfe, and Tori Oelschlager finish their careers as one of UD's most successful -- including two NCAA Second Round appearances. Their departures will be missed, but the cupboard is not bare. Chances are the 2011 Dayton Flyers will have sights set on advancing in the NCAA tournament for the third time in a row.
That seems to be the new benchmark success is measured.
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