Dayton, May 27, 2019 - Dayton Dutch Lions FC’s Men’s team (1-0-1) beat West Virginia Alliance FC (0-3-1) with 2-1 on Saturday evening. A deflected cross from Jackson Dietrich and a strike by Kristo Strickler gave the Lions a 2-1 lead after they were trailing 0-1 in the initial 5 minutes of the game. The win puts the Lions 1-0-0 in league standings since the initial game vs Cincinnati Dutch Lions FC does not count towards the standings.
The game started off a bit slow for the Lions, resulting in a goal for the Alliance in the opening minutes of the game. The team responded very well though, pulling a game tying goal back in the 9th minute through a well worked short corner kick and great service by Jackson Dietrich that led to a deflected own goal. The Lions started to settle into the game a bit and find their rhythm creating a few quality chances to close out the first half but were unable to convert. The Lions came out strong after the half, resulting in several chances. Kristo Strickler scored the second goal for the Lions that later turned out to be the game winning goal.
Head Coach Dan Griest commented on the turnaround: “I believe Tristan Lyle's addition changed the game dramatically, as his hold up play in the final third, and his intensity in his pressure, made an immediate impact for us. We were able to keep possession much more in the second half, most notably due to Tristan's efforts, and we were able to capitalize on one of our numerous chances relatively early in the half, with Kristo Strickler bagging his first goal of the campaign. This allowed us to introduce quite a few new fresh legs around the sixty-minute mark and see out the duration of the match. While it would have been nice to be able to finish another chance at home in front of our home fans, however, the most important thing is that we were able to get three points at home and get ourselves off and running in the right direction in the league standings. We have a tremendously difficult week ahead, with an exhibition and league match with Chicago United on the road, so we will get back to work as soon as the holiday is over and look to be focused and at our best come next weekend”.
The team travels to Chicago next weekend for back to back games on Saturday and Sunday.
Credits to Curt Cosenza for the great pics!
