Box Score
MORTON, Ill. – University of Dayton senior forward Evan McCreary tallied two goals helping Dayton to a 3-1 win over the No. 25 Bradley Braves in exhibition at McClallen Park on Tuesday.
“I felt that we did a good job tonight after eight days of preseason training,” University of Dayton Men’s Soccer Head Coach
Dennis Currier said. “We were able to show what we have worked on and we had a great team effort.”
McCreary had two goals while registering three shots on frame for the Flyers. Sophomore defender Greg Enstone scored the game-winning goal in the 60th minute for UD. Ryan Peterson, Eddie Jones and Brian Bates each had assists in the match.
“Evan made a big difference when he came back from injury last season, and did so again tonight.” Currier said. “He scored an incredible goal [to open the game]. He was dominant in the air, and he was rewarded with his efforts.”
Freshman goalkeeper Ryan Suddarth played the first half. Suddarth allowed one goal in heavy traffic following a throw-in. Freshman keeper Chris Froschauer played the second half, making two saves for the Flyers.
“We split between Ryan [Suddarth] and Chris [Froschauer] tonight in goal and they both were really solid for us,” Currier said. “Bradley’s first goal was a tough one for any keeper. Chris probably saw a little bit more action in the second half and he handled the pressure well. However, a lot of credit also needs to go to our back four for not allowing many shots on goal tonight from Bradley.”
Dayton held an advantage in shots on goal and corner kicks. The Flyers had six shots on goal while the Braves had three. UD took seven corners to BU’s four.
“I thought our newcomers played a significant role tonight,” Currier said. “We did a good job of holding our line and staying organized throughout the night.”
McCreary opened the scoring at 16:52 of in the first half on a blast from the left side to beat Bradley’s Brian Billings to take a 1-0 lead. Peterson assisted on McCreary’s first goal.
Bradley returned the favor one minute later at 17:51 after Wojciech Wojcik buried a loose ball in traffic following a throw-in by the Braves. Wojcik’s goal knotted the game at one apiece through the first half.
Fellow countryman Eddie Jones found Enstone at the 59:14 mark on a feed that beat Logan Ketterer on the left post to take a 2-1 lead.
McCreary’s second goal of the night came off of a deflection from freshman Brian Bates that beat Ketterer on the far post at 66:35.
Bradley was ranked No. 25 entering the preseason by the NSCAA. Last season, Bradley had one of its best seasons in program history when they went 15-6-2 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Dayton will play its final preseason exhibition on home turf this Saturday, Aug. 18 against the Detroit Titans. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Baujan Field. There is no charge for University of Dayton men’s soccer regular season home matches.
