Dayton, May 21, 2018 - Dayton Dutch Lions FC earned a come-from-behind draw Friday in their home opener in a very physical affair against the West Virginia Chaos. The Lions got their goal in the 38th minute from Chris Dupont (Canada/Dynamo) to draw even. They had several chances in the second half to earn the win, but could not find the back of the net.
"The boys came to play today," Lions head coach Dan Griest said. "We have had a good couple weeks of training and the majority of the roster is in town, so we were looking for a good result. I believe we should have taken three points with the chances we created, but someone has to step up and put the ball away for that to happen. As the players start to get more familiar with each other, I see us playing some very good soccer.
The opening 15 minutes of the match belonged to the visitors as they had two early shots on goal. Federico Barrios (Columbia/Univ. of Dayton) was able to record both saves and was quick with his distribution. The Lions were struggling to put passes together as the clouds opened up and rain began to fall.
The slick playing surface and some reckless tackling led to a game filled with 12 yellow cards and one red. The first Chaos yellow was earned in the 18th minute when Jacob Moore (Ashland, MO/Oakland) broke free on the left flank and was headed towards goal. He was taken down from behind to stop the attack. This was the first of 8 yellow cards issued to the Chaos.
Both teams were playing a bit cautious content to knock the ball around without much penetration. In the 30th minute, the visitors changed that with a goal coming out of nowhere. They moved the ball to the right flank where a nice give-n-go allowed the Chaos winger to take a shot from 22 yards out. Barrios was able to push the ball wide, but into the path of the left winger who ripped a shot which beat Barrios over his right shoulder for a 1-0 lead.
The goal seemed to wake the Lions up as their play the rest of the match was at a much higher intensity and effectiveness. They earned several corner kicks over the next five minutes as well three free kicks. The third free kick was played out on the right wing allowing Bradley Schluter (Centerville, OH/Dynamo) to curve the ball near post where Eric Hutton (Chillicothe, OH/Wright State) was able to flick it towards goal. Dupont's run was perfectly timed as he volleyed the keeper rebound into the net for a 1-1 tie.
The Lions dominated the remaining 8 minutes of play and went into half with some momentum. Coach Griest brought on two substitutions at the half; Jose Labanino-Ramos (Las Vegas, NV/ Northwest Nazarene) for Schluter and Jalim Bayo (Columbus, OH/Wright State) for Moore. He also made some adjustments on the back line which yielded a much tighter defense in the second half.
The insertion of Bayo at left wing almost yielded immediate results as he had a great opportunity that was saved by the Chaos keeper. The Lions continued to keep control of the match as the rains started to pour and the cards continued to be issued. The Chaos earned 5 yellow cards in the second half, but the most costly came in the 78th minute when one of the Chaos defenders was issued a second yellow for a reckless tackle and was sent off the pitch.
With the man advantage, the home team started to push for the winning goal and had two wonderful chances in the last 8 minutes. The first opportunity came when David Lianes (Spain/Dayton) was able to overlap Bayo where he played a nice low cross into the penalty box. Williams got a shot off that was deflected in the goal mouth. The Chaos keeper was on the ground when Bayo looked to have a clear shot, but it was cleared off the line at the last moment.
The second opportunity also came from Bayo attacking the left side where he slotted a nice ball across the top of the box. Sam DeRoy (Powell, OH/Wright State) was able to get a shot on goal which was deflected across the goal. Similar to the opening score for the Chaos, Connor Hughes (Wichita Falls, TX/Cedarville) was on the far post, but his shot went wide.
"I was pleased with the adjustments we made at half-time as we controlled the second half," Griest said. "The boys did a very good job of implementing change and sticking to it. Each of our substitutes made positive impact. I look forward to these guys getting more time together."
The draw gives the Lions (0-0-1, 1 point) a point from their opening match. They will be on the road this Wednesday as they visit the Michigan Bucks. Kickoff for that match is 8:00 pm at Royal Oak HS.
The Lions will be home on Friday, May 25th at 7:00pm versus the Derby City Rovers. Tickets are $10 adults and $6 youth, military and veterans at the gate (5 and under free). Specially priced discounted tickets are available for groups of 12 or more by calling the ticket office at 937 530 2123.
Link to pics of the game provided by the Dutch Lions photographer, Curt Cosenza - https://1drv.ms/f/s!AnHnR0W4tL_igtovjN1NgZ0ftu9sCw
Link to the video of the game provided by Net Edge Sport video production - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mWfKNFpaqxBxazTplU91ghUJyJ5ZonKf/view?invite=CPC9xeMO&ts=5b021afc
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