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MarlonDuran started in Friday's match against Butler |
Photo Gallery | Coach Currier's Postgame Comments
DAYTON, Ohio – The University of Dayton men’s soccer team opened up its exhibition schedule with a 2-0 loss to the Butler Bulldogs at Baujan Field on Friday night.
“We knew this would be a learning experience. Butler is a team that returns a lot of its players from last year. We knew that we had to challenge them early to see where we are at,” Dayton head coach Dennis Currier said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us. We still have to work on fitness, but also functional training and getting to know each other better.”
Despite outshooting the Bulldogs 6-3, Dayton was unable to convert against a Butler team that advanced to the second round of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship and captured the Horizon League regular season title.
“We probably had five to seven new faces on the field tonight,” Currier said. “There were times that our combination play was well and we were doing a good job of getting forward. In the first half we were pinned in our end and we weren’t holding the ball up well. I thought we held the ball up well in the second half, but we couldn’t produce the goal.”
The match was played under modified rules with one - 45 minute period, followed by two - 30 minute periods. In addition, official individual player stats were not kept due to both teams wearing their practice gear.
A number of newcomers started in the exhibition. Marlon Duran, Aubrey Kebonnetse, Jule Picton, Andres Acevedo and John Howe started for UD. Despite a number of scoring chances, the Flyers were unable to capitalize.
“The learning curve is always tough because it is a higher level going from youth to college,” Currier said. “I think it was good for us to play a strong team. They were nationally ranked last year, and we wanted our guys to see what that level is like. We know we have a lot of work to do, and our freshmen have a way to go but we’ll do everything we can to get them there the quickest.”
Butler notched the first goal just before the 31st minute on a header from the right side.
With Dayton leaving only three defenders back late in the match, the Bulldogs connected again on a pass in front of the goal for the insurance tally.
The Flyers close out their exhibition slate against Kentucky on Monday at 7:00 p.m. ET at Baujan Field. Admission is free to all regular season home games.
