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Flyers Topple Hokies 3-0 in NCAA First Round
Flyers Topple Hokies 3-0 in NCAA First Round
Christopher Rieman
Published by Chris R
11-13-2010
Flyers Topple Hokies 3-0 in NCAA First Round

COLUMBUS (OH) -- The Dayton Flyers moved on to the NCAA Second Round after knocking out Virginia Tech 3-0 Friday evening at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Dayton improves to 19-3 while Virginia Tech finishes the season at 10-10-1. UD plays on Sunday against tourney host Ohio State in the Round of 32. The Buckeyes survived their First Round match against St. Francis (PA) with a 1-0 double overtime victory.

Friday evening's game was a rematch of sorts as the Hokies up-ended the Flyers 3-1 at Baujan Field in the 2009 NCAA Second Round. Many of the same players from that game suited up once again, but Dayton made the most of their chances and capitalized when it counted. Success didn't come easy however.

Virginia Tech took control early in the first half much like they did in last season's tournament win -- physical play and dominating aerial success. Dayton got pinned back in their defensive third in the opening minutes and poor clears allowed the Hokies to use long throw-ins to pepper balls in the Flyer penalty box. A bevy of early Va Tech corner kicks made UD's defense work that much harder. Thankfully, Dayton held tough -- but luck was also on their side. Two early Hokie scoring chances bounced off the goalposts to keep the match scoreless.

Dayton's first scoring chance came 11 minutes in and the Flyers made the most of it. Colleen Williams found Ally Giner open in the middle of the field and fed a nice through-ball behind the Va Tech back line. Giner hit a solid shot on goal from 20 yards out, but freshman goalkeeper Dayle Colpitts misplayed the routine catch and the ball slipped past her hands and into the net for the 1-0 Dayton advantage. By all accounts it was a save that shouldn't have been troublesome, but credit goes to Giner for keeping her shot on frame and making a first-year goalie show some nerves -- good things have a habit of working out when shots are on frame.

Despite the lead, the Flyers were getting thoroughly beaten everywhere else however. Virginia Tech continued to win most of the balls in the air and that pushed Dayton into a position where generating offense was non-existent at times. The Hokies were also more physical and displayed game-breaking speed in many parts of the field. Open space was everywhere and the Flyers were forced to chase. The match turned one-sided and it wasn't long before the Hokies hit the crossbar in another near miss opportunity that would have tied the match.

The last 20 minutes of the first half were improved for Dayton, but in small increments only. The Hokies continued to own most of the possession, picked off nearly every goal kick with hard challenges in the air, and turned the corner on the baseline several times for crosses in the box. Every time it seemed like Tech would finally hit paydirt however, UD came up with the critical clear, save, block, or tackle to cling to the 1-0 lead.

UD had their best moments when working the ball through Jerica DeWolfe or Colleen Williams, but first touches let too many players down and getting dispossessed was the order of the first half. The outside defenders for Dayton also had trouble keeping Hokie attackers from running loose or turning the corner along the baseline. Thankfully, Kelsey Miller and others did just enough inside the box to turn numerous scoring chances away.

Things were by no means pretty and the level of soccer by the Flyers was not strong, but they nonetheless managed by grind their way to a 1-0 halftime score.

First half shots were in favor of the Hokies 12-3. They also won the battle of corner kicks 6-2. The stats were indicative of the run of play, but the scoreboard said otherwise.

The second half started much like the first as Tech players continued to push forward on overlapping runs down the touch lines. Senior forward Marika Gray was a handful all game and had defenders twisted in knots at times trying to slow her down. It seemed like an equalizer was forthcoming with the run of play still dominated by Virginia Tech, but the last 35 minutes of the match would prove to be entirely different match altogether.

Flyer goalkeeper Lisa Rodgers came up huge early in the second half on a tip save over the crossbar to protect the 1-0 lead.

Ten minutes after the restart, Dayton started to find their groove. More possession ensued -- helped in part by terrific possession and distribution by Williams in the middle of the field. Freshman Juliana Libertin found her legs along the right touchline and began challenging defenders with her speed. The Hokie back line played high and flat, allowing UD to chip balls over the top and run onto them in open space.

Two poor offside whistles by the linesman called back a pair of jailbreaks as UD chipped to a player running past the last Hokie defender. Not to be discouraged, Dayton kept plugging away. DeWolfe did a nice job of battling for possession while freshman Stephanie Emery subbed in midway through the second half and added valuable minutes challenging balls in the offensive third. Amazingly, with 25 minutes remaining, the run of play had equalized.

Dayton added their second goal in the 76th minute on perhaps the prettiest combination-finish of the 2010 season. Giner crossed a ball from the right side, settling it in between two defenders to the head of Tori Oelschlager. Oelschlager's snap header buried the ball into the back of the net from six yards out to make the score 2-0. Virginia Tech was stunned -- not only at the goal but at the high quality -- and never recovered. The wind in their sails took a permanent vacation and over the last 15 minutes, Dayton dominated.

Williams added an insurance goal just three minutes later after settling a cross in the box with her feet, taking a touch, and burying a shot to the top shelf. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar and into the net for the 3-0 lead in the 78th minute. In less than three minutes, the match went from precarious to all but over.

The Flyers were en entirely different team shortly before and after the two second half goals. Williams was almost unstoppable, shielding possession as long as she desired and laying off to teammates as they ran into space. Josie Grant made her short but meaningful minutes count in the second half by winning a couple headers when the Hokies were abusing the Flyers above the shoulders.

Libertin, Giner, and others continued to track behind the Hokie back line on through balls and chips over the top. The Flyers were no longer getting dis-possessed or unable to pick off passes. First touches were much better. Overall, it was a tale of two separate matches. As the final whistle blew, the stats still handily favored Virginia Tech, but Dayton looked like the better team striding to the finish line.

Final match stats: Virginia Tech outshot UD 20-7, but shots on goal were fairly even at 7-6. Corner kicks favored VT 13-6.

Rodgers was nearly perfect in goal. She had two or three tip saves and had Super Glue on her mitts every time a shot was placed on goal -- never once bobbling a ball.

Libertin was a huge help in the second half, working the right side of the attack and forcing VT defenders to mark one-on-one. She took a big step forward tonight. Giner made defenders work for it with pressure and substance. DeWolfe was steady. Miller cleaned up a bunch of mistakes in the back line.

Williams was sensational and the best player on the field for extended stretches. Any concerns about her ability to compete at the highest level of college soccer were put to rest as she acted as a battering ram against the ACC-toughened Hokie players. On one play in the last five minutes, she raced 40 yards shoulder-to-shoulder with a defender for a relatively meaningless loose ball -- seemingly just to make a statement about who was the more physical player. She bludgeoned the defender off the ball, held possession, and helped stick a fork in the final outcome.

With 18 goals and 12 assists (and tonight's spectacular play), Williams is a legitimate All-American by any measurement and the most dominating offensive player to suit up at UD since Missy Showtime Gregg. If she is not recognized with All-America honors by the NSCAA at season end, nobody is watching enough soccer.

Dayton takes on tourney host and #3 seed Ohio State on Sunday afternoon at 1pm. The Buckeyes needed double overtime to beat St. Francis (PA) 1-0 in a match that probably should have been 8-0. OSU out-shot SFU 38-2, including a 19-1 advantage in corner kicks. Sunday's match will be a re-match from earlier in the season when the Buckeyes beat Dayton 1-0 at Baujan Field.
__________________

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Make everyone else's "one day" your "day one".
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  #1  
By UDBrian on 11-13-2010, 08:49 AM
Nice article Chris!
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  #2  
By UACFlyer on 11-13-2010, 04:30 PM
Chris, your last para reminds me of a scathing critque of soccer that appeared in the Wall St. Journal (of all places!) a few months ago.

Without the slightest doubt OSU is superior to SF by any measure. Yet, the slightest turn of events could have made SF the winner...as often goals occur under flukey circumstances in soccer....and just about only in soccer. Very often the clearly inferior team wins.
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