Sept. 26, 2008
Box Score
DAYTON, Ohio - Sophomore Josh Albers provided the difference in Dayton's 3-2 win against non-conference foe Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Friday night at Baujan Field in the Flyers' final tune-up before playing their Atlantic 10 opener.
"SIUE is a very organized squad. They are the first team that we've played that connects passes all over the field and on the ground," said UD head soccer coach Dennis Currier. "I thought we did a great job in the second half especially in the first 30 minutes. We were all over them and that's when the game changed."
After a scoreless first half, UD (6-2-1) came out blazing in the second stanza. Albers put the Flyers on the board in a hurry with the help of some great play by junior Isaac Kissi. He hustled after a ball that looked to be going over the touchline. Kissi used his speed to track it down, beat a defender and sent ball sailing across the goal mouth. Albers put an emphatic finish on it to put UD up 1-0 just 47 seconds into the second half.
"We talked about being a little more dynamic at halftime. Our outside players had to be as wide as possible because one yard was going to make the difference," said Currier. "We told them we were getting the chances but we needed to convert and convert early. I thought we came out flying the second half."
Albers also scored the game-winner, again on a fantastic setup by Kissi who deked two defenders and put a perfect cross past the keeper for the waiting Albers. He finished again and gave the Flyers a 3-0 lead in the 69th minute. Of Dayton's six shots on goal, Albers had three and two of his shots found the back of the net.
"I basically didn't do anything. It was all Kissi," said Albers. "I played the ball to Kissi and he did his magic on the end line. All he had to do was tap it into me and I finished it. I'm usually the one crossing to him but he got the cross to me today and I put them in."
Freshman Jack Pearson scored UD's other goal, his third of the season, in the 60th minute. On a Zach Weiss corner kick, Pearson rose above the crowd and got a head on it, sending the ball to the back of the net. All three goals the defender has scored this season have been on set pieces and on headers. The Cougars (3-5-0) made a comeback late in the game. It appeared as though the Flyers may have secured their third consecutive shutout, but SIUE's Jack Twellman and Mike Jones scored goals in the 84th and 87th minute, respectively. Dayton outshot the Cougars 15-10, but only had six shots on goal, compared to SIUE's five on goal.
The Flyers will go more than a week before hosting Richmond in their A-10 opener on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. at Baujan Field.
"We wanted to win these last three at home and that's what we did and now we're riding some momentum," said Currier. "We start conference play at home. It's just going to be crucial to get those first few wins. We talked about how much there is a difference in 6-2-1 and 5-3-1 and it's great to be going into the conference with such confidence."
Notes: This game marked the 800th in UD men's soccer history...the Flyers are 5-0-0 at Baujan Field this season and are 12-0-2 at home dating back to last season...during Currier's tenure, the Flyers are 16-0-1 when scoring three or more goals.
