DAYTON, Ohio - The Western Illinois men's soccer team recorded a 2-1 victory over the Dayton Flyers Sunday (Sept. 11) to finish action in the Dayton Invitational. The Leathernecks dropped their opening game in the tournament to Butler, 3-2, Friday (Sept. 9).
Head Coach Eric Johnson said it's always nice to come away with a win after working hard and playing good soccer.
"Today's win was hard fought and I think everyone on the team was pleased with the effort we put in. We played another good first half, made a couple of adjustments heading into the second and took advantage of some nice chances. We did a really good job of controlling the possession in the second."
With the 1-1 tournament record this weekend, the Leathernecks placed second and had three players named to the All-Tournament team in Husref Jupic, Charlie Bales and Aaron Appel.
Dayton's Jack Pearson scored the first goal of the match just 8:50 into the contest to put the Flyers up 1-0. The rest of the first saw the Leathernecks record eight shots to UD's seven.
The Leathernecks tied the match up at 1-1, four minutes into the second half. All-Tournament team member Charlie Bales used a free kick from 20 yards away to beat the keeper high. A little over four minutes later, newcomer Diego Gonzalez put the Leathernecks up 2-1 after receiving a pass from Mariano Leo, who returned from injury this weekend.
Western goalkeeper Andy Ryan made a game-saving, diving save midway through the second to keep the Leathernecks up, 2-1.
"If Andy doesn't make that save they tie it up and would have most definitely gained the momentum," said head coach Eric Johnson.
The Flyers finished the match with a 15-12 advantage in shots. Bales led Western with three shots, two on goal.
With the win, the Leathernecks improve to 2-3-1 on the season, while Dayton drops to 1-4-0. The win also gives Western a series lead, 2-1-0 in favor of the Leathernecks.
After four straight matches on the road, the Leathernecks will return home for a match against DePaul University Saturday (Sept. 17) at 1 p.m.
