DAYTON – The No. 1-seeded University of Dayton women's soccer team battled back from an early deficit to eliminate No. 8 seed La Salle from the Atlantic 10 Championship on Friday night, winning 3-1 at Baujan Field.
 
The win marks the 100th in head coach Eric Golz's Flyer career and improves Dayton's record to 14-3-2 on the season.
 
La Salle got on the board first with a 15th minute penalty kick, but the Flyers kept the pressure high throughout the half.
 
UD sophomore Liv Grenda evened the score in the 36th minute when she rebounded her own header off a feed from Laney Smith that went off the post and beat the Explorer defender for the goal. It was the sixth goal of the season for Grenda.
 
Dayton and La Salle played even through the first 22 minutes of the second half when the Flyers broke through for the go-ahead goal. Redshirt sophomore Olivia Baca smashed a beautiful feed from Molly Russell past the keeper, and after initially being ruled offsides, VAR overturned the call and made it a 2-1 Flyer lead.
 
The Flyers' final tally came from Smith, who fired a shot past the keeper after a perfect service from senior Karli Ferguson.
 
Dayton dominated nearly every category on the evening, out-shooting the Explorers 22-5 and 9-2 on goal. The Flyers also held the edge in corners, 3-1.
 
KEY STATS
22 – shots in the game for Dayton, out-pacing La Salle by 17
17 – points on the season for Laney Smith after picking up both a goal and assist on the night
6 – goals for Liv Grenda, who needs one more to match a career-best
4 – goals on the campaign for Olivia Baca, a new career-high
3 – assists for senior Molly Russell on the season
 
UP NEXT
The Flyers now host the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinal on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. at Baujan Field. Dayton will play the lowest remaining seed in the tournament after the quarterfinal round.