WSOC: UD Blanks Wright State 2-0 for First Win of 2022

The UD Women's Soccer team notched their first victory of the 2022 season with a 2-0 shutout over cross-town rival Wright State on Sunday evening at Baujan Field. Itala Gemelli got the game-winner early in the first half and a WSU own-goal padded the scoreboard for the Flyers. Dayton improves to 1-0-1 while Wright State falls to 1-1-0.

Sunday's match was delayed 90 minutes due to severe thunderstorms and lightning around campus. When things finally got underway, UD chose GK Maddie Crosbie to start the match -- her first career start -- while MF Jess Sheldon was back in the lineup after missing the season opener against Toledo. Sheldon would soon remind Flyer fans why she's so valuable on the pitch.

Dayton controlled the opening minutes with a consistent push forward into the attacking half. Diana Benigno got good early touches in the central midfield while Noel Blain, Laney Huber, and Itala Gemelli found space up top to generate a few early shots -- some more dangerous than others.

Sheldon went to work in the seventh minute with another patented dribble-drive along the left side of the goal box, turning baseline and feeding a perfect pass to Gemelli standing directly in front of the box for the easy redirect to make it 1-0.

From there, UD continued with good pressure as the Raiders surrendered space between the goal boxes that allowed the Flyers to move forward and find additional distribution along the flanks. But Wright State nearly undid Dayton's advantage just moments later when a long-ball cross and subsequent header beat Crosbie and found the back of the net. Only a fortunate offside flag kept the score 1-0.

WSU's best scoring opportunities came mostly on quick counterattacks similar to the offside chance, but they were few and far between as UD commandeered most of the possession in the central third. Gemelli almost put the Flyers up 2-0 on separate occasions with a pair of quality scoring chances inside the box -- chances she put over the goalpost but would normally end with a clinical finish.

The Flyer defense remained organized when chasing balls and working out of the back. Crosbie had one quality save at the far post and came off her line to corral a through-ball near the edge of the box to snuff out another WSU scoring opportunity.

On the other end, UD kept squeezing the Raiders into retreating defensive positions, though too many of the scoring opportunities resulted in shots well over the crossbar. Alicia Donley helped make up for that in the 43rd minute with a cross to the near post that was inadvertently deflected into the net by a Raider defender. The own-goal put UD up 2-0 and WSU made a goalkeeping change due to contact near the scrum.

Halftime stats were dominated by Dayton with a commanding 21-3 advantage in shots and 4-1 edge in corner kicks. Shots on goal were 7-3 and a better indication of UD's struggle keep shot attempts on frame.

The second half included a goalkeeping change for the Flyers as freshman Batoul Reda got her first career start -- perhaps a sign that Head Coach Eric Golz is auditioning the job. Meanwhile, the run of play turned chippy with numerous fouls on both sides, necessitating several yellow cards to clean up the play. For 12-15 minutes after the restart, neither team took firm control of the play. Movement flipped fields repeatedly with neither side finding that clean open look or jailbreak counter-attack to put a serious scare into the opposing defense. The open spaces UD enjoyed in the first half were less prevalent after halftime. Reda was more involved between the pipes as WSU created more chances around the Flyer goal box, but she cleaned up everything with sure hands to keep the Raiders off the scoreboard.

The last 30 minutes of the game were much like the prior 15 minutes. The flow changed several times but neither side executed well enough near the opposing goal boxes to free a player up and attack the net with quality shots on frame. Play deteriorated considerably compared to the first half and while UD maintained a 2-0 advantage, the score should have been 3-0 or 4-0 -- especially when WSU had an own-goal to help UD's chances. The Flyers milked the clock however and -- if nothing else -- preserved the clean sheet for the 2-0 victory.

Final stats ended up 27-7 in shots but just 11-6 in shots on goal, indicative of UD's struggles to turn scoring chances into legitimate shots on frame that tested the goalkeeper. UD also won the battle of corner kicks 7-2. Seven yellow cards -- including five in the second half -- underscored the chippy play and overall frustration of both teams to find success in the run of play.

The return of Sheldon however was a plus by itself as she changes the game and how Dayton can attack defenses. At the same time, Reda was solid in goal in the second half and look very comfortable. She demonstrated soft hands, good decision-making, and did well on her kicks and clearances out of the back. She definitely gave the Flyer coaching staff something to think about.

Dayton hits the road for the first time with a match at Northern Kentucky on Thursday August 25th at 7pm.