LADY LIONS WIN 1-0

LADY LIONS WIN 1-0

West Carrollton, OH (July 9, 2016) The Dayton Dutch Lions FC Women (6-1-0, 18 pts) welcomed FC Pride (2-3-2, 8 pts) to DOC Stadium. The Lions comfortably sit in first in the Valley Conference while FC Pride is tied for second. The day was beautiful and and exuberant crowd was on hand for the 5:00 pm kickoff.

The fight in the early going was in the midfield and neither team found much rhythm. Both teams found it hard to push forward and gain any advantage.

As the Lady Lions began to gain more possession, the game opened up for them up front and they had back-to-back chances that led to the first goal. Through balls led to opportunities and in the 12th minute, Aliya Patten cut in from the left side and fired a shot far post.  The Pride keeper made and excellent save pushing the ball just wide.  Two minutes later, Dayton’s Meghan Blank split the FC Pride defense and Patten was through on goal. Gathering the ball on the full sprint, Patten faked a shot, cut past the oncoming FC Pride keeper and with calm assurance, put the ball into the back of the net for the first goal of the evening.

In the twenty third minute, Dayton’s Patten was at it again. Maneuvering near the eighteen, she turned and fired hard. FC Pride’s keeper, Katie Peters dove left and got a hand on the ball as she pushed it out wide, keeping her team within one.

Meghan Blank fired for her second shot of the evening in the twenty third minute. The ball flew high though and FC Pride regained possession.

The first half drew to a close with the Lady Lions in the lead over the Pride 1-0.

Dayton began the second half with possession and pace. The quicker speed of play put FC Pride on the defensive. Several shots by the Lions resulted, but they went directly to the Pride keeper.

While the Lions continued their possession style game through the half, they struggled to create good opportunities to score against their opponent.

The second half Dayton managed the game and lead.  However, neither team was able to convert their chances and the game ended with the score Dayton Dutch Lions FC 1, FC Pride

Dayton Women’s Coach Ian Richardson had this to say about the game.”Delighted to get the win and get the girls back in their winning ways. We’ve rested up some bodies again tonight, with the bigger picture being the playoffs. But I thought it shows the strength of our squad. The first half arguably was the best forty five minutes we’ve played all season. How the game stayed 1-0 at halftime was beyond me. The second half it shows that we were using some girls that hadn’t played as many minutes. Nice to see that the group had the intelligence to manage out the game.”

The Dayton Dutch Lions FC Women (6-1-0) finish up their regular season at Lakota East High School on Friday, July 15th, taking on the Cincinnati Sirens (2-4-1) at 7pm ET.

They will participate in the Regional playoffs the weekend of July 23-24.  The playoffs are a single elimination format with games on Saturday and Sunday to determine who will represent the Central Conference at the Final Four in Columbus, Ohio the following weekend.

 

MATCH SUMMARY

Venue: DOC Stadium

 

Attendance: 202

Weather: Sunny, 80’s

SCORING SUMMARY:

14’ Dayton- Aaliyah Patten, Meghan Blank   1-0