WSOC: Flyers Fall to #10 Saint Louis 2-1
The UD Women's Soccer team entertained the #10 Saint Louis Billikens on Sunday afternoon in a critical A10 match against the top two teams in the conference standings. Dayton jumped out to an early lead but the Bills equalized just before halftime and dominated the 2nd half for a 2-1 victory over the Flyers. With the win, SLU essentially locks up the A10 regular season title and improves 14-1-0 (7-0-0) to while UD falls to 12-3-1 (6-2-0).
Any team looking to pull off a huge upset needs a great start to the match and Dayton got exactly that just five minute after kickoff. Alicia Donley played a long ball over the top of the Billiken back line that Laney Huber ran onto with speed. Past the last defender, SLU goalkeeper Emily Puricelli was forced to exit her box and challenge the service but couldn't beat Huber's touch that chipped the ball into the open net for the early 1-0 Flyer lead.
It was a great sequence and just the kind of play UD needed to give themselves a chance in this match, but more scoring would be needed and one goal would certainly not be enough to hold off the offensive firepower of Saint Louis.
The Bills regrouped after the restart and gained considerable possession that afforded multiple pushes into the Flyer defensive third of the field. Much of the work came from excellent foot skills to cross up UD defenders as well as speedy legs that got around outside backs for baseline drives. Those moments forced Dayton to either dive in with late fouls that resulted in whistles and subsequent free kicks, or corner kick opportunities that SLU is extremely dangerous on.
When the Flyers had moments to push forward offensively, SLU's closure speed and tracking ability from offense to defense ran down UD players that previously had space to maneuver. The Bills managed more meaningful possession with a quicker overall pace and fewer touches on the ball, while UD had trouble generating 1- and 2-touch passing to take advantage of small but exploitable gaps. UD also suffered from more plentiful poor touches that either slowed down their run of play or conceded possession altogether. It was SLU's confidence on the ball that was the overriding difference in the first 30 minutes of the half, but the Flyers continued to battle and had moments on offense where it felt like a second goal could materialize under the perfect circumstances.
SLU started winning more loose-ball challenges over the last 15 minutes of the half with faster feet or more physical shoulders in the central third, gaining possession in spots where Dayton had chances to be dangerous were the result a different outcome. The contrast in precision also dictated a lot of play at times; SLU had more accurate passes and cleaner touches while UD's service was often off target and picked off for Billiken counter-attacks.
UD's defense finally cracked in the 42nd minute after getting beat on the left side of the box for a low cross to the near post. Jess Preusser was loosely-marked and redirected it into the net for the equalizer. The half would ultimately finish knotted up at 1-1.
The Billikens led in shots 9-4 but just 4-3 on frame. They also owned a 3-1 lead in corner kicks, in part from getting deeper into UD territory on more numerous occasions and forcing the Flyers to deflect crosses out of bounds.
The second half restart was important for both teams but SLU wasted no time exerting their speed and physicality advantage to create pressure and force Dayton to scramble defensively. The Bills were better in all phases -- 50/50 challenges, first touches, accurate service to teammates, and faster decision-making with the ball at their feet.
In moments where UD had some space to push forward, unforced errors such as poor passing led to quick counter-attacks that forced the Flyer defense to chase in 1v1 situations. SLU's persistent pressure and speedier feet eventually paid off in the 70th minute when they punched in a corner kick to take the 2-1 lead. Set-piece goals have been the Bills' calling card against UD over the last few seasons and they once again picked on the Flyers inside the goal box for the redirect.
Down 2-1, the match was essentially over with 20 minutes remaining as UD continued to generate few honest scoring chances inside the Billiken goal box. Most opportunities were long counters at best against multiple defenders and not enough run support on Dayton's part to provide assistance to the player running on the ball. SLU also pick-pocketed Dayton attackers trying to juke past defenders, snuffing out those rare 1v1 conditions when a singular piece of brilliance might free up a Flyer player into free space for an open shot or cross in the box.
The Billikens continued to control possession and eliminate any last-gasped attempts at a Dayton equalizer in the waning minutes. As the match wound down, it was a case of "bigger, stronger, and faster" seizing the victory as is the case with most talented teams taking care of business against upset-minded opponents such as Dayton.
SLU out-shot UD 6-2 in the second half and had a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks. Even Huber's excellent goal to give the Flyers the early lead was a half-chance scoring opportunity and half-chances were the only looks the Bill defense gave up for the remainder of the match as well.
Sunday's match was not unlike most UD/SLU matchups of the recent past where the Flyers were tasked with overcoming a sizeable talent gap and fending off a team that had no honest excuse to lose to an inferior opponent. Dayton remains SLU's toughest A10 opponent to date, but the distance in overall technical ability, quickness, and physicality has not gone away. Over the course of 90 minutes those traits rise above the trash talk and put teams like Saint Louis in favorable positions to win most of the matches they play. Head Coach Eric Golz' challenge is to narrow the recruiting gap because the differences lie largely in natural God-given abilities that cannot be coached -- athleticism, information-processing speed, and physicality. If nothing else, UD didn't get run-ruled on the scoreboard on Sunday afternoon and probably gave SLU one of their tougher matches of the season.
The Flyers hit the road next week for a road match on Thursday Oct. 20th against the Fordham Rams.
Any team looking to pull off a huge upset needs a great start to the match and Dayton got exactly that just five minute after kickoff. Alicia Donley played a long ball over the top of the Billiken back line that Laney Huber ran onto with speed. Past the last defender, SLU goalkeeper Emily Puricelli was forced to exit her box and challenge the service but couldn't beat Huber's touch that chipped the ball into the open net for the early 1-0 Flyer lead.
It was a great sequence and just the kind of play UD needed to give themselves a chance in this match, but more scoring would be needed and one goal would certainly not be enough to hold off the offensive firepower of Saint Louis.
The Bills regrouped after the restart and gained considerable possession that afforded multiple pushes into the Flyer defensive third of the field. Much of the work came from excellent foot skills to cross up UD defenders as well as speedy legs that got around outside backs for baseline drives. Those moments forced Dayton to either dive in with late fouls that resulted in whistles and subsequent free kicks, or corner kick opportunities that SLU is extremely dangerous on.
When the Flyers had moments to push forward offensively, SLU's closure speed and tracking ability from offense to defense ran down UD players that previously had space to maneuver. The Bills managed more meaningful possession with a quicker overall pace and fewer touches on the ball, while UD had trouble generating 1- and 2-touch passing to take advantage of small but exploitable gaps. UD also suffered from more plentiful poor touches that either slowed down their run of play or conceded possession altogether. It was SLU's confidence on the ball that was the overriding difference in the first 30 minutes of the half, but the Flyers continued to battle and had moments on offense where it felt like a second goal could materialize under the perfect circumstances.
SLU started winning more loose-ball challenges over the last 15 minutes of the half with faster feet or more physical shoulders in the central third, gaining possession in spots where Dayton had chances to be dangerous were the result a different outcome. The contrast in precision also dictated a lot of play at times; SLU had more accurate passes and cleaner touches while UD's service was often off target and picked off for Billiken counter-attacks.
UD's defense finally cracked in the 42nd minute after getting beat on the left side of the box for a low cross to the near post. Jess Preusser was loosely-marked and redirected it into the net for the equalizer. The half would ultimately finish knotted up at 1-1.
The Billikens led in shots 9-4 but just 4-3 on frame. They also owned a 3-1 lead in corner kicks, in part from getting deeper into UD territory on more numerous occasions and forcing the Flyers to deflect crosses out of bounds.
The second half restart was important for both teams but SLU wasted no time exerting their speed and physicality advantage to create pressure and force Dayton to scramble defensively. The Bills were better in all phases -- 50/50 challenges, first touches, accurate service to teammates, and faster decision-making with the ball at their feet.
In moments where UD had some space to push forward, unforced errors such as poor passing led to quick counter-attacks that forced the Flyer defense to chase in 1v1 situations. SLU's persistent pressure and speedier feet eventually paid off in the 70th minute when they punched in a corner kick to take the 2-1 lead. Set-piece goals have been the Bills' calling card against UD over the last few seasons and they once again picked on the Flyers inside the goal box for the redirect.
Down 2-1, the match was essentially over with 20 minutes remaining as UD continued to generate few honest scoring chances inside the Billiken goal box. Most opportunities were long counters at best against multiple defenders and not enough run support on Dayton's part to provide assistance to the player running on the ball. SLU also pick-pocketed Dayton attackers trying to juke past defenders, snuffing out those rare 1v1 conditions when a singular piece of brilliance might free up a Flyer player into free space for an open shot or cross in the box.
The Billikens continued to control possession and eliminate any last-gasped attempts at a Dayton equalizer in the waning minutes. As the match wound down, it was a case of "bigger, stronger, and faster" seizing the victory as is the case with most talented teams taking care of business against upset-minded opponents such as Dayton.
SLU out-shot UD 6-2 in the second half and had a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks. Even Huber's excellent goal to give the Flyers the early lead was a half-chance scoring opportunity and half-chances were the only looks the Bill defense gave up for the remainder of the match as well.
Sunday's match was not unlike most UD/SLU matchups of the recent past where the Flyers were tasked with overcoming a sizeable talent gap and fending off a team that had no honest excuse to lose to an inferior opponent. Dayton remains SLU's toughest A10 opponent to date, but the distance in overall technical ability, quickness, and physicality has not gone away. Over the course of 90 minutes those traits rise above the trash talk and put teams like Saint Louis in favorable positions to win most of the matches they play. Head Coach Eric Golz' challenge is to narrow the recruiting gap because the differences lie largely in natural God-given abilities that cannot be coached -- athleticism, information-processing speed, and physicality. If nothing else, UD didn't get run-ruled on the scoreboard on Sunday afternoon and probably gave SLU one of their tougher matches of the season.
The Flyers hit the road next week for a road match on Thursday Oct. 20th against the Fordham Rams.