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Flyers Shoot Down Toledo 2-0
Flyers Shoot Down Toledo 2-0
Christopher Rieman
Published by Chris R
09-21-2014
Flyers Shoot Down Toledo 2-0

The Dayton Flyers women's soccer team finished the weekend undefeated and unscored upon as a goal in each half did the damage, securing a hard-fought 2-0 victory over the Toledo Rockets on Sunday afternoon at Baujan Field. The Flyers, who bounced back well from a tough pair of losses last week, improve to 4-5-1. The Rockets fall to 3-4-1.

A beautiful afternoon for soccer was handicapped only by a strong west-to-east breeze that gave each team a pronounced advantage for half of the match. While UD faced the head-wind in the first half, it ultimately didn't matter because of a sensational early goal.

And by early, we mean just 17 seconds into the match when freshman Alexis Kiehl challenged a deep ball inside the left part of the Rocket goal box. Behind the last defender, the Toledo goalkeeper had no choice but to exit her goal line and challenge her. But Kiehl used a well-timed toe-poke, hurdled the goalkeeper, and finished a difficult angle to the open net for the early 1-0 Dayton lead.

Things couldn't have started better as Dayton had the wind in their face but also in their sails -- with the exception to a Flyer injury at goalkeeper. Elizabeth James required medical attention after gimping off the field in the 10th minute, forcing backup GK Jenna DiTusa off the bench. DiTusa would finish the match between the pipes.

The next 15 minutes of the match were competitive however and UT did well to keep much of the action in the Flyer defensive half of the field. With long balls aided by the wind, Rocket mids and forwards pushed ahead and kept UD from exerting a sustained offense of their own. The Rockets were helped in part by the big foot of GK Sam Tiongson; she took shots on goal from midfield when the Flyers were whistled for midfield fouls.

When UD did manage to dig the ball out of their own side of the field, they were usually dangerous -- especially on the flanks. Kiehl and Ashley Campbell worked up top and ran onto balls placed forward. More than that however, Dayton's back line and midfield jump-started those dangerous opportunities by switching the ball weak-side whenever they could. And when they did, the Rockets were playing exceptionally narrow and forced to chase.

Competitive play continued over the latter 15 minutes of the half, with Toledo's best scoring chances coming on deep balls down the flanks that lead to crosses in the box. The Rockets also missed on a perfect look from the edge of the box after cutting inside with the dribble, but they bailed out the Flyers when the wide-open shot sailed high.

Halftime stats favored UD in shots 12-7 and corner kicks 2-0 -- well-earned stats considering the consistent 15mph headwind they encountered.

The breezy conditions continued after intermission, though it turned into more of a cross-wind than a tailwind. Still, Dayton made the most of it and dominated the final 45 minutes with most of the action in Toledo's defensive half of the field.

Campbell got loose on a couple occasions, running deep into the UT goal box, but she couldn't put away her shots on goal and the score remained 1-0. Other chances came and went, but it wasn't for a lack of good effort overall, especially in the midfield by Erin O'Malley. The Rockets struggled to generate any consistent possession near the center circle and much of that was a result of O'Malley's work to win loose balls and knock bodies around to keep Toledo's offense unstable. Balls dished to Nicole Waters allowed Dayton to play additional service with an inside-outside approach, but the Flyer mids also looked for teammates attempting to slip through the last Rocket defender on narrow runs at the near or far post.

Alexis Kiehl added an assist to her first-half goal in the 75th minute after turning the corner on the right baseline and crossing a ball to her sister Kaitlynn at the six-yard box. Kaitlynn tipped the ball to O'Malley at the far post where her outstretched leg redirected the ball past the goalkeeper from point-blank range. Now up 2-0, UD was in firm control on both the field and the scoreboard.

Toledo did their best to score late in the match and make a game of it, but their best chance on a shot at the lower left post was saved by DiTusa. Waters nearly made it 3-0 in the final two minutes on a shot to the upper 90 of the near post, but a mitt save kept her out of the scoring column.

Overall, the Flyers out-shot Toledo by a commanding 27-9 margin, including 15-4 in shots on goal. Corner kicks also favored UD 7-1.

It was a strong, gritty performance against a foe that beat Ohio State earlier in the season and forced Notre Dame to win with a late PK. While the run of play was not always a work of art, UD hustled and that as much as anything controlled the tempo of the match.

The UD back line of Allison Klinefelter, Lesley Chilton, Nicollete Griesinger, Megan Herr, and Sarah Byrne played a strong match and never gave the Rockets many clean looks at the net. Klinefelter also pushed forward on the touch line and played like a wide-attacking mid at times. DiTusa stepped in for the injured James and also got the job done with some good hands on long balls in the box.

Freshman Alexis Kiehl continues to improve and is starting to command a greater role in the Flyer offense. Her first touch of the ball is freeing her out of tight spaces and she has the shifting ability to go one vs. one at back-line players. She has a long way to go -- but she's come a long way already and is gaining confidence with every match.

The Flyers finish up the non-con portion of the schedule next weekend with a road trip to Big-12 foe Oklahoma State. The Cowgirls are a strong side with NCAA success and should be a great test. With lessons learned from last week's forgetful trip to California and this week's solid play and results, it's the perfect time to see if Dayton can step up and beat a name-brand program.




















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