Flyer News: Univ. of Dayton's Student Newspaper
(Photo via @a10conference Instagram)
Gabriel Ward | Contributing Writer
The No. 5 University of Dayton Men’s Soccer team (13-2-3) defeated Saint Louis University (8-4-8) 3-0 last Sunday to capture their second straight Atlantic 10 Tournament title in front of 1,556 fans at Baujan Field.
The Flyers entered the game on a seven-match winning streak that began with a 5-1 thrashing of then No. 1 West Virginia on Oct. 15. The Flyers made it to the league final by shutting down the offenses of both Davidson and Fordham, beating the Wildcats 1-0 and the Rams 2-0. Saint Louis entered the match on a hot streak as well, advancing past Massachusetts on the road with a scoreless draw before winning the penalty shootout 3-0 and then went on the road again and beat George Mason in the conference semifinal 2-1.
The Flyers came out firing as Dayton was able to generate the first eight shots of the game. The Flyers’ pressure would lead to an early game-changing play as in the 36th minute a long pass from Dayton defender Geni Kanyane led to a bouncing ball causing a multiplayer collision between Saint Louis goalkeeper Jeremi Abonnel, Saint Louis midfielder Carlos Leatherman, and Dayton midfielder Joseph Melto Quiah right outside of the Billikens box. After a discussion with his assistant, the referee decided to hand out a yellow card to Saint Louis’ Leatherman. This was his second yellow card of the match, resulting in a red card and an ejection.
The Flyers continued riding their momentum and would finally get their breakthrough as in the 43rd minute, right outside of the box, Felix Buabeng struck the ball with his left foot and was able to place it off the left post and into the net, putting the Flyers up 1-0 just before half.
The second half was more of the same for the Flyers, as their defense was able to contain Saint Louis, resulting in only six shots and just one shot on goal the entire match. The Flyers offense was able to complement their defensive performance by finding two more goals in the second half.
In the 71st minute, Dayton midfielder Braden Seel was able to play a perfect pass to Melto Quiah, who was able to control it and bury it into the bottom left corner to double the Flyers lead. And then soon after, in the 74th minute, the Flyers went quickly in transition, allowing Dayton forward Andrew Armstrong to find Buabeng right in front of the net for an easy tap-in, bringing the Dayton lead to 3-0.
The 3-0 scoreline would hold for the remainder of the game, and the Dayton Flyers captured their second straight Atlantic 10 Tournament title.
The NCAA rewarded Dayton’s historic season with the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Flyers will get a first-round bye and then will face the winner of Michigan and Robert Morris on Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at Baujan Field.
CLASSIFIEDS:
If you are a business or organization looking to place an ad on our website or in our monthly print edition, please contact Pat Enright, the director of Flyer Media, at penright1@udayton.edu
Email us at flyernews@udayton.edu
Our office is located in the Roger Glass Center for the Arts, Flyer News Office.
(29 Creative Way, Dayton OH)
You can also reach us on our social media platforms located below.
Flyer News and this website would not be possible without the help of Frazier Smith and Pat Enright. Thanks for believing in us and allowing us to express our journalistic freedom.
