Dayton - The Dayton Dutch Lions FC (3-6-2, 11pts) welcomed the Michigan Bucks (9-1-2, 29pts) to DOC Stadium on Saturday evening. Michigan leads the Great Lakes Division of the Premier Development League, so Dayton knew a tough game await them. Michigan outscored Dayton 6-1.
Michigan went straight for the Dayton goal. Lions’ keeper Chris Froschaur was forced to make a diving save in the first minute. The Bucks did not let up. A fast pace and tough physical play continued through the half.
Buck’s Russell Cicerone sprinted down the middle in the sixth minute. Beating the Lion’s defense he went one on one with the Dayton keeper. Striking the ball hard Cicerone sent the ball into the far upper corner, leaving no chance for Froschaur.
Dayton struggled to maintain possession as Michigan pressed and pushed the game.
Things changed in the twenty first minute for Dayton. Michael Frasca was tripped in the box by a Michigan defender. Josh Scully stepped up for the penalty but the Buck’s keeper Andrew Shepherd guessed right and diving, blocked the ball out wide. The corner that followed led to the ball finding the feet of Tyrone Leandro in front of the Michigan goal. He shot right to left putting Dayton on the board.
Not long after, a shot by the Bucks in front of the Lions goal hit the hand of a Dayton defender. A penalty kick was awarded. Michigan’s Thomas Owen did not miss in the twenty eighth minute and gave his team the lead once again.
Again, in the forty second minute, Michigan took the direct route. Running down the left side and cutting in, Calvin Rezende broke out the fast feet and beat the Dayton defender. The shot hit the right post and dribbled back into the goal.
The first half whistle blew and the Dayton Dutch Lions went into the locker room trailing by two.
The second half, both teams started where they left off, with hard, fast play. Control and quick decision making followed.
A build up by Michigan led to David Goldsmith passing to Gerald Ben. The Dayton defender slid and so did Ben, over powering the defense and slipping the ball into the net.
Dayton spent much of the remaining half on defense trying to stop the buildup from Michigan.
The Bucks were not finished. Ben passed on Dayton’s five yard line to Alexander Adelabu who put the ball into the net, giving his team the 6-1 lead in the eighty eighth minute. The game finished and the Michigan Bucks were the victors.
Dayton’s Coach Bal shared these comments after the game: “They started very aggressive and they are by far the best in the league. Not only in our division but probably the league overall. They won it last year and they showed why they are the best tonight. I really liked that we came back when were down one to zero. We started to play well and we started to play with them. We scored one goal and we could have had another one. Then we had an unlucky hand ball. Then we were down two to one. The goal that made it three to one before halftime wasn’t necessary. I think if we just kept our score to one goal difference then we could have kept ourselves in the game longer and that helps. We got scored on both before and after the half. Pretty much the game was over after four to one. Then I made some subs to rest some players before Monday’s game. Today they were just the better team.“
The Dayton Dutch Lions FC (3-7-2) travel to play the Derby City Rovers (1-7-3) on Monday, July 13th at 7:30pm at Centre College. Dayton then travel to play the Michigan Bucks (10-1-2) at Ultimate Soccer Arena on Saturday, July 18 at 7:30pm.