DAYTON – The University of Dayton women's soccer team opened the 2022 regular season on Thursday night at Baujan Field, as they took on the Toledo Rockets of the Mid-American Conference. In a hard-fought opening match, the Flyers battled their way to a 2-2 draw.
 
Dayton opened the match on the offensive, registering the first five shots on goal in the match overall. The fourth of those five shots came from the foot of Laney Huber, who was there to clean up a rebound from an Itala Gemelli shot, and had a wide-open net to deposit her first tally of the season and put the Flyers on top 1-0 in the 21^st minute.

The Rockets would come back strong, however, as their first shot on goal of the match found it's way behind Flyers goalkeeper Madelyn Dewey off a deflection and crossed the goal line to even the match at 1-1 in the 33^rd minute. Just before the half, Toledo would take another step in the right direction, as Ashton Cassel found a loose ball outside the 18-yard box and put home a powerful left-footed strike to give the Rockets a 2-1 advantage heading into the locker room, despite being outshot in the first frame 16-6.
 
The Flyers continued to push on the offensive end in the second half, but struggled to find the break-through they needed to tie the match. That moment came in the 78^th minute as the Flyers lined up for a free kick near mid-field. Natalie Hegg sent a ball into the Toledo 18-yard box, and sophomore Noel Blain found herself on the end of that ball, and was able to head it past the Rockets' Emma Boutorwick to tie the match at 2-2.
 
Each team would have a couple more chances to close out the match, but as night fell at Baujan Field and the game clock wound down, the Flyers would come away with a season-opening draw in front of almost 400 fans.
 
The Flyers will return to Baujan Field for their second regular season contest of the year on Sunday night, as the nearby Wright State Raiders make the short trip for a 6:00 p.m. kick-off. The match will be shown on ESPN+, and live stats will be available on DaytonFlyers.com.