Junior forward Ashley Campbell netted three first half goals and Nicole Waters added another after intermission as the Dayton Flyers ended a four-game skid by topping Ohio University 4-0 Friday evening at Baujan Field. A slow start turned into a romp as UD improves to 3-5-1, while the Bobcats fall to 3-5-0.
With a week to contemplate the disappointing losses on the west coast to nationally-ranked Santa Clara and Stanford, fans were excited to see how the Flyers would respond -- so much so that a healthy crowd of 1,413 fans showed up on a picture-perfect night of soccer on the University of Dayton campus. The bad news is UD took their time getting started, but the good news is they would eventually dominate the match.
The opening 10 minutes of the first half were fairly even as both sides knocked the ball around without much accuracy, resulting in plenty of dispossession and transition play in the other direction. The Flyers' first touch on the ball was problematic, and a pedestrian work rate hampered their early chances to get dangerous when the field opened up several delicious opportunities to move forward. The Bobcats were working hard to win loose balls and keep Dayton from gaining extended possession, and for the most part it worked. The Flyers had a few chances on the wings and sent balls across the face of the box, but the crosses were mis-timed early or late and failed to find a teammate making a quality run.
Thankfully, after 20 minutes of sputtering, the UD engine started firing on all cylinders. The catalyst came on a filthy Ashley Campbell shot from 25 yards that appeared ready to sail wide, but swerved at the last moment and found the upper 90 of the far post to put the Flyers up 1-0 in the 23rd minute. Campbell's rocket was part chance, good fortune, frustration, and terrific skill wrapped in one. The strike from distance shocked the Bobcats -- but so too Campbell's own teammates.
From that point on, Dayton seized control of the entire match and never got "worked over" for any substantial stretch thereafter. Campbell was not finished either.
Her second goal came on a well-struck shot from 22 yards out that buzzed the Baujan Field grass and tucked inside the lower left post to give UD a 2-0 lead in the 31st minute. Just three minutes later, Nicole Waters sent a perfectly-placed corner kick to the far post where Campbell one-timed it with a volley to the opposite post to make the score 3-0 and secure her first hat trick of the season.
The remainder of the half was all Dayton, with the exception of a Bobcat goal taken off the scoreboard due to an offside flag. Halftimes stats favored UD 16-5 in shots and 3-1 on corner kicks.
The second half yielded more of the same, but it took about five minutes for the Flyers to regain their form. Once they were dialed in again, Ohio started to lose their fitness and couldn't maintain midfield marking. Waters and Erin O'Malley took turns moving the ball through the midfield circle, while freshman Alexis Kiehl proved dangerous every time she touched the ball at the forward position.
UD peppered the Bobcat goal with three or four more outstanding shots on goal -- shots that might have found the net on any other night. But solid goalkeeping or an unkind post kept the score frozen at 3-0.
It was Dayton's best combination sequence of the night however that netted the fourth and final goal in the 80th minute. Senior Kelsey Smigel posted up near the left edge of the goal box, sealed off her defender, and redirected her service with a clever one-touch backwards to Waters running directly on goal. Waters one-timed her feed from 20yds out to the upper 90 of the far post, making it 4-for-4 in Flyer goals that most goalkeepers at any level would have had trouble stopping.
The final score could have been worse. UD missed three or four great chances to pad the lead in the second half, including one just seconds after the restart when Waters one-touched a feed wide of the post. Other shots by the Flyers were headed for side netting, but only a diving save from Bobcat GK Nicole Amari kept the score down.
Final stats favored UD in shots 27-8 and corner kicks 5-1. Of UD's 27 shots, only 10 were on frame however. Ohio is not an NCAA team and it remains to be seen if they will finished above .500 this year, but that doesn't distract from UD's more-focused effort and work ethic compared to last weekend's forgetful moments in California.
Much of the credit for Friday's victory goes to Campbell, but not for her hat trick. She did exceedingly well to track back on defense and steal possession from Ohio defenders or mids pushing forward. After dishing to teammates, she sprinted back on offense and awaited service down the flanks. It was a work-rate Flyer fans have been desperately lusting after all season by the uber-talented striker, knowing such an effort would yield unprecedented results. Her elbow grease changed the entire match and the opposition had no answer for it.
Kiehl was dangerous all night with the ball at her feet and showed a lot of future promise in the Flyer attack, though she's yet to take her touches head-up so she can more quickly identify the open players. As she adapts to the speed of the college game, this should improve.
While Waters' first-touch was a struggle most of the match, she still pitched in with a goal and assist, doing more than enough in the middle of the field despite the frustration.
Goalkeeper Elizabeth James was not challenged often between the pipes, but kept everything in front of her, taking advantage of the play of her back line consisting of Lesley Chilton, Ally Klinefelter, Sarah Byrne, and Nicolette Griesinger. It was a well-earned shutout and though Ohio's attack was not especially dynamic, they threw enough balls in the Dayton goal box to keep
Mike Tucker's back line engaged throughout the game. Goalkicks remain problematic however.
Dayton wraps up the weekend by hosting Toledo on Sunday afternoon at 1pm. The Rockets are a "tough out" almost every season and already have a victory over Ohio State -- the same Buckeye squad that topped the Flyers 4-2 two weeks ago.
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