A late goal by the University of Dayton helped the Flyers to break a stalemate, defeating the University of Richmond women’s soccer team 1-0 on Oct. 2.
The result narrowly avoided a shakeup of Atlantic 10 standings that would have dropped the 3-0 Flyers from its top spot and elevated the 0-3 Spiders out of a tie for last place. Eager to climb back into postseason contention, UR battled hard from the outset, bottling up a Flyers squad that was searching for its fifth straight shutout victory.
Sophomore goalkeeper Veronica Rrapi and the Spiders’ back line were instrumental in keeping a contentious matchup, allowing Dayton’s offense to press into the sides of the final third, but quickly cleaning up resultant crosses into the middle. Even still, the Flyers slowly began to heat up, being denied by the crossbar in the 11th minute before again ringing a set piece off the woodwork three minutes later.
The Spiders were able to generate some offense with a handful of their own set piece opportunities. Most promising was a strike from senior midfielder Anna Garcia that found the cleat of first-year forward Emma Newman for UR’s only shot on net of the half.
Inside ten minutes to halftime, the Flyers began to seize control, dominating possession and striking several times at goal, though Rrapi remained stout with a trio of saves.
“[Rrapi’s] dedicated herself in the course of the last twelve months. It’s a tough spot being the goalkeeper, but she’s done well. She's still growing as a younger player, but it’s a lot of responsibility back there, and she’s taken that stuff on board,” UR Head Coach Adam Denton said in a postgame interview of Rrapi’s performance.
The Flyers continued to plug away at goal through the second half, but not before nearly conceding themselves. A galvanized UR squad roared out of halftime with one of the better chances of the day for either side in a cross by Newman to first-year defender Morgane Zinn, who ripped a shot on net DU’s goalkeeper just managed to push onto the post.
Following Zinn’s 47th-minute strike, UR would be held without a shot on frame for the rest of the contest. Keeping a deep midfield line however, a stingy defense kept chances largely sparse for the Flyers as well.
Down the stretch, Dayton would be granted a handful of set piece opportunities that were all turned away, as Rrapi and UR’s defense continued to come up with crucial stops and breakout clearances.
As the clock ticked past the 70-minute mark, it seemed the Spiders might become the first non-Power Four program to hold the Flyers scoreless this season. It wasn’t long after however that the Flyers finally broke through. Working down the right side, Dayton found a pocket of space in the 18-yard box to cross the ball into, rifling the ball across the face of the goal and into the low right corner.
With the shot converted, the Flyers began to milk the clock, sitting back and retaining possession with their deep defensive line despite challenges from UR’s offense. The Spiders dispossessed Dayton’s defense repeatedly, but yielded no chances to equalize, dropping a fourth straight loss.
“We didn’t make enough of the chances that we did create… on the balance of play, I think they had more opportunities than we did, but we did limit them,” Denton said. “We’ve just got to keep working away to get on the ball as soon as possible.”
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Dayton notched its fifth straight victory with the win, all having come in shutout fashion, for an overall record of 7-3-2. Coming away without critical points in the A-10 standings, UR remains at an 0-4 mark, posting an overall record of 3-6-3.
The Spiders will look to regroup in their next conference matchup at home against the University of Rhode Island, slated for 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5.
Contact sports editor Scott Valentine at scott.valentine@richmond.edu
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