DAYTON — Despite trailing 2-1 in the second half of the Atlantic 10 Men’s Soccer Quarterfinals, No. 3 seed Dayton scored three unanswered goals to take down No. 6 VCU 4-2 at Baujan Field on Friday night.
The Flyers (7-2-7) advanced to the semifinals with the victory, where their opponent is yet to be determined. The eight-team tournament will be re-seeded following the conclusion of Saturday’s quarterfinal matches.
Dayton wasted no time getting the championship action underway, scoring in the game’s first two minutes. Freshman forward Maxim Scordo delivered a low pass across the box which junior midfielder Martin Bakken put away to give Dayton a 1-0 advantage.
VCU responded with a goal of its own later in the first half. Set up by a brilliant set piece, Rams midfielder Theo Drennan knocked the ball in from close range to tie the game 1-1.
Neither team could shift the score before halftime, but VCU went on the attack fresh out of the break. Moussa Ndiaye, a three-time A-10 Defensive Player of the Week selection this season, came through on the offensive end with the go-ahead goal off a corner kick.
The back-and-forth battle continued with a Dayton score just eight minutes later. Sophomore forward Andrew Armstrong delivered a perfectly placed cross in front of the goal, setting up a jumping header for Ethan Sassine that found the back of the net.
Armstrong contributed another highlight worthy-moment soon after. With the game tied 2-2 in the 71st minute, the forward drilled a one-touch shot into the bottom corner of the net from outside the box to put Dayton back in front.
VCU needed a response, but Bakken scored his second goal of the day on a rebound opportunity to give the Flyers a 4-2 lead in the final minutes.
Dayton finished the game with 18 shots, while VCU recorded 14.