DAYTON, Ohio – In a game which featured 32 fouls and 103 minutes of scoreless soccer, St. Bonaventure eventually lost to the host Dayton Flyers, 1-0, in double overtime this afternoon at Baujan Field.
 

Victor Duru tallied his second goal of the season off a cross from Aubrey Kebonnetse in the early stages of the second overtime session to give Dayton (7-5-3, 3-1-2 Atlantic 10) the win in a chippy, crucial match for A-10 tournament seeding.

With the win, Dayton now has 11 points and sits in sole possession of third place, while St. Bonaventure (8-7-0, 3-3-0 A-10) remains at a total of 9 points and in a tie for fourth. The top six teams qualify for the A-10 tournament in three weeks.

"I'm proud of our guys for maintaining their composure in a game that could have easily gotten out of control," head coach Mel Mahler said in regards to the physical play. "These are all very important matches and there are a lot of emotions flying around.

"But it's disappointing," Mahler continued. "I thought we created the chances we needed to in order to win, defended well and had the run of the play for a good portion of the game."

The Bonnies tilted the field in their direction in the second half as they outshot the Flyers, 9-2, in those 45 minutes, and 13-8 for the game. They forced Dayton keeper Tyler Picard into four saves on the afternoon, while David Flynn made just two for the Bonnies. Additionally, the Brown and White out-cornered the Flyers, 9-5.

The game represented the end of the team's road docket, as it will now host its remaining three games of the year – two next weekend and then Senior Day on Nov. 6 against Duquesne. All three A-10 contests will prove vital to the team's postseason chances, and Mahler believes all three are must-wins.

"Quite frankly I think that anything less than three wins will be a disappointment," the sixth-year coach stated. "If we aspire to be one of the top teams in the conference, then we need to get the job done. And I believe in these guys. The players are in place; we just have to make it happen."

The Bonnies will get that chance beginning on Friday in a 3 p.m. meeting with George Washington. The Colonials will enter the contest with a 2-12-0 overall record, including an 0-5-0 mark in A-10 play.

Game Notes: This was the second consecutive road weekend that the team won on Friday and lost in overtime on Sunday … last weekend they defeated La Salle, 3-0, and fell to Fordham, 2-1 … three yellow cards were issued, two to Dayton and one to St. Bonaventure … Chris Leko fired six of the team's 13 shots … none of St. Bonaventure's remaining three opponents have a record over .500.