Flyers Hold Strong in 1-1 Draw Against No. 9 Western Michigan

Gabriel Ward | Contributing Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The University of Dayton Men’s Soccer Team (4-1-1) battled the ninth-ranked Western Michigan University Broncos (5-0-3) to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday in Columbus at Historic Crew Stadium. 

The match started off well for Dayton, as the Flyers were able to produce four of the first five shots of the game. But the Broncos struck first, as on the sixth shot of the match, Braxton Arpachinda took a shot from outside of the box that found the back of the net, putting Western Michigan up 1-0 in the 28th minute.

The first booking of the match came in the 39th minute when Western Michigan’s Carter Cormier was cautioned with a yellow card.

Five minutes later, in the 44th minute, Bronco’s goalkeeper Colin Welsh committed a foul in the box, giving the Flyers a chance to tie things up from the spot. Midfielder Hjalti Sigurdsson took the penalty and calmly placed it in the bottom corner to level things up right before the half. 

The second half was full of goal-scoring opportunities for both sides. Despite the offensive pressure, neither the defense nor the goalie gave in, keeping the score deadlocked at one. 

From the 63rd to 69th minute of the match, the Broncos made five substitutions, hoping that the fresh legs would be able to help find the winner. But Flyer goalkeeper Dario Caetano saved four Western Michigan shots in the final 25 minutes, including one in the 89th minute, to keep the score even. 

The game was chippy down the stretch as three more yellow cards were shown, with two on Dayton and one on Western Michigan. But nothing escalated past a yellow card, and the game came to an end.

The Flyers extend their unbeaten streak to four games, while the Broncos extend theirs to 29 games. 

Next up for the Flyers is a trip to Chicago on Sept. 21, where they will face off against the Ramblers of Loyola Chicago in their Atlantic-10 Conference opener. 

The Flyers are scheduled to return home to Baujan Field on Sept. 28 when they welcome the VCU Rams. 

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