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Flyers Outrun Thundering Herd 1-0
Flyers Outrun Thundering Herd 1-0
Christopher Rieman
Published by Chris R
09-19-2008
Smile Flyers Outrun Thundering Herd 1-0

DAYTON (OH) -- Sometimes the result is all that matters when artistry and execution are hard to come by. Dayton demonstrated that rather effectively on Friday night as they outlasted winless Marshall University 1-0 in front of 494 fans at Baujan Field. UD earned the much-needed win but struggled to jump on top of Marshall and break their spirits early. Florian DeCamps provided the lone goal and game winner in the second half of the nightcap of the Dayton Flyer Courtyard by Marriott Tournament. UD improves to 4-2-1 while the Herd falls to 0-6.

Marshall's ability to hang around all evening began in the first half as the Herd frustrated UD with enough defensive pressure and hustle plays to keep the Flyers out of a good rhythm. Neither side provided much in the way of fireworks and as the first 45 minutes wore on, much of the play continued between the 18s. When either side felt pressured, long balls were dialed up and possession subsequently lost. The back and forth pinball generated few high quality scoring chances, most coming in the way of free kicks and corner kicks where loose balls in the mixer forced an important clear. Dayton almost hit paydirt on a header at the far post that sailed just wide, thanks to a nice set piece from 30yds out from just left of center.

On a couple of occasions, Marshall defenders turned their backs and let a loose ball get behind them, allowing just enough time for a UD player to get a foot on the ball and attempt a shot on goal, but nothing in the way of fingertip saves or goal line clears were needed to keep the match scoreless. The Flyers paced their way to 11 first half shots while surrendering just four, but overall play and time of possession remained fairly even. In stretches, both teams had trouble generating the kind of energy level needed to take command. At the same time however, team defense in the match remained solid if not unspectacular -- just enough to aggravate and keep both offenses a step off balance. The Flyers failed to convert on six first half corner kicks while Marshall had a similar fate on three attempts.

The second half started much like the first half ended. Both teams spent a lot of time running down loose balls and battling for possession in the midfield, but when it came time to piece it all together into an effective attack, the precision broke down and made things far too easy for the opposing defense.

The bright spot of the match came in the 58th minute when UD capitalized on their best three touches of the evening. Junior midfielder Ben Murray stepped up in front of a Herd player and won a loose ball to carry forward. His second touch found DeCamps in perfect stride along the left side of the 18yd box free of defenders. DeCamps finished the pass off with a low shot to the far post from 15yds out that beat charging goalkeeper Greg Walter. While DeCamps received the glory, it was Murray who made it all happen and his feed to DeCamps was perfectly weighted and precise.

Over the last 30 minutes, Dayton had a couple more chances to extend the lead. No better chance came in the final 10 minutes when Walter stoned a DeCamps penalty kick to keep the Herd in the match. The Flyers milked the remainder of the clock to secure the win. Dayton outshot Marshall 23-8 for the match.

Perhaps the storyline of the match was how impressively unimpressive UD earned the victory. The sign of a quality team is knowing how to win during subpar performances. Marshall had good hustle players and some speed on the flanks, but lacked any degree of dynamism to look threatening -- against UD or anyone else of significant caliber. UD looked a bit lethargic at times and lacked cohesion in the offensive third of the field. Beyond the set pieces and corner kicks, few organically generated scoring chances were there to capitalize on for 90 minutes. Winning ugly while not at your best can be viewed as a sign of a team yet to click or a maturing group learning to scramble for hard-fought Ws.

On the positive side, UD received defensive contributions from Randy Dennis, the speedy junior who missed several earlier matches in the year. His pace and ability to run down balls on the right side were welcome sights and should bode well over the remainder of the year. The Flyers also limited Marshall to just a couple quality scoring chances all evening. Defensively, Dayton once again looked very solid.

Flyer goalkeeper Tyler Picard received his second career start and wasn't asked to do too much. The sophomore transfer from Creighton came out of his box on one play to clear a ball and was forced to retreat quickly as the ball remained close by, but overall play was more than adequate.

In the first match of the tournament on Friday, Butler downed Robert Morris 3-0. The Flyers take on Robert Morris at 2:30pm on Sunday. Marshall and Butler square off at noon.

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