Oct. 26, 2007

Box Score

DAYTON, Ohio - With three second half goals from juniors Simeon Zaprianov, Joe Olwig and Florian DeCamps, the Dayton Flyers picked a fine time for its best offensive performance of the season.

The Flyers, beginning on a five-game homestand, remained unbeaten at Baujan Field with a 4-1 victory over the Saint Joseph's Hawks on Friday.

"Tonight, it was an amazing team effort," said senior Zac Gibbens who made two saves in net. "From top to bottom we played well and it was one of the first games in a while where there was some passion to play."

Dayton picked up a much-needed win in the Atlantic 10 improving to 2-3-0 in league play and 8-4-2 overall. The win also lifted the Flyers' home record to 5-0-0 on the 2007 campaign.

Saint Joseph's got on the board first when Patrick Duddy capitalized off his own rebound and put away his fourth goal giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.

After the Flyers missed on various scoring chances throughout the remainder of the first half, sophomore Jeff Popella redirected a shot from sophomore Sonny Renner to tie the game at 1-1. For Popella it was his third goal of the season and his second in his last three games.

"We had a long road trip and we knew we had the last five games here at home and it's great to be back," head coach Dennis Currier said. "I think we had a little bit of nerves in the first half but we settled in and did what we needed to do."

In the second half, Zaprianov was fouled in the Saint Joseph's goalie box less than five minutes into regulation. He converted on the Flyers' first penalty kick of the season and gave UD a 2-1 edge.

"I was very confident in myself and chose a place to shoot the ball and I was happy," Zaprianov said.

Less than 20 minutes later, sophomore Alex Torda and Popella combined on a give-and-go to find Olwig open on the left side for his third goal of the season and a 3-1 Flyer advantage.

With 42 seconds left in regulation, DeCamps would follow with his second goal of the season thanks to assists by Renner and senior Tyler Imbrogno to put UD ahead 4-1.

The three second half goals were the most scored by the Flyers this season.

"It just boils down to the small details," Currier said. "We were much better in the attacking third in the second half. We had a few adjustments up top. I thought Simeon and Jeff did a good job of sparking the offense a bit. It was a matter of putting the small details to get that production."

The lead would hold throughout regulation as UD handed Saint Joseph's its first loss in conference play. The Hawks drop to 4-7-2 overall and 3-1-0 in the A-10.

Dayton held a decisive 21-7 advantage on shots and controlled the tempo throughout the match.

"We were pretty solid the entire night despite letting that goal in the first half," Renner said. "We played tough enough to get the win. Coming back from the road, we knew getting a good win would help. We worked hard in practice this week and it paid off."

Renner finished with two assists while Torda now has a goal or an assist six of his nine eight games.

The Flyers continue their five-game home stand on Sunday against the Temple Owls beginning at 1 p.m. ET.

"We're just looking forward to Sunday and trying to win it and think about it. We know we have to win these next four games to get to the tournament," said Zaprianov.