Dayton Splits, Loses Mid To Injury

DAYTON - The Dayton soccer team split the last two games, beating the Walla Walla Valley Academy Knights, 4-1, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, and falling to the Northwest Christian Crusaders, 11-1, on Monday, Oct. 8.

The Crusaders put pressure on the Bulldogs right out of the gate. For the first 20 minutes of the game, the Bulldogs were able to keep the ball out of the net but unable to move the ball into Cru- sader territory for long enough to take many shots.

With 26:21 left in the first half, the Crusaders broke through Bulldog defense and hit the net, scoring the first goal of the game.

Midfielder Pedro Barbosa de Deus fought back to gain pos- session and took the ball into Crusader territory. Barbosa de Deus got his chance at the net with a one-on-one penalty kick at 10:36, scoring the only goal of the game for the Bulldogs and tying the score up at 1-1.

With 10 minutes left in the first half, midfielder Marshall Nechodom fought for the ball against an aggressive mark and landed with his ankle twisted. Nechodom was helped off the field and examined by athletic director Rick Hamilton who determined Nechodom's ankle was sprained. The Crusaders took advantage of the cold mid- fielder and pushed through to score again with 8:28 left in the half, bringing the score to 2-1, Crusaders.

The Crusaders didn't waste time, going back to the goal to score again with 7:52 left on the clock, bringing the score to 3-1, Crusaders.

The Crusaders scored again with 3:23 on the clock, and twice more before the end of the half, bringing the score to 6-1, Crusaders at the half.

The Crusaders returned from the half ready to widen the score gap, scoring in the first seconds of the second half, bringing the score to 7-1.

A yellow card was pulled on a Crusader at 34:30. The Cru- saders fought without the starting player scoring with 29:00 left on the clock. The Bulldogs were able to break into Crusader territory and take several shots but the closest shot was blocked by an offsides call. With 27:40 left in the game, the Crusaders broke to goal again and scored, bringing the score to 9-1. A pen- alty kick at 23:24 bumped up the Crusaders' score again, bringing it to 10-1.

When the yellow-carded Crusader returned, a yellow card was pulled on Barbosa de Deus at 9:20 after aggressive exchanges between the two.

Tough Bulldog defense held the Crusaders but couldn't stop the final goal of the game with 8:44 left on the clock, raising the final score to 11-1, Crusaders.

In the game against the Knights, Dayton led the game with the opening score but the Knights were able to tie before the half, bringing the score to 1-1 at the break. Dayton played aggressively to score three more goals in the second half and hold the Knights.

Head Coach DJ Frame said he was happy the team won dur- ing homecoming week against the Knights.

"Players executed the game plan very well," Frame said. "Our stopper line helped control the pace of the game and kept WWVA from having many scor- ing opportunities."