DAYTON — The University of Dayton men’s soccer team scored twice in the first 17 minutes Saturday night and made it stand up, defeating Fordham 2-1 at Baujan Field for the Flyers’ first Atlantic 10 win of the season.
Cooper Lijewski and Chase Jackson scored the Dayton goals, with assists from Braden Seel and Adebayo Dikko — Dikko’s first assist of the season. The Flyers struck in the ninth minute, doubled the lead in the 17th, and carried the 2-0 advantage into halftime.
Fordham owned the second half territorially, recording 16 of its 25 shots after the break, and finally broke through in the 66th minute. A Bruno Cellerino corner into the box was deflected to Jason Hsu, who scored his first goal of the year from 15 yards to cut the margin to 2-1.
The Rams kept pressing for the final 23 minutes but could not find an equalizer, because Dayton goalkeeper Santino Inkpen had a career night. Inkpen recorded a career-best eight saves between the posts, organizing a defense that bent under the shot volume but conceded only once.
“The team had a great week of training and it showed tonight — we executed very well against a strong Fordham side,” head coach Dennis Currier said after the win. “We’ve conceded too many goals lately, so I am pleased with how organized we were defensively. Now we have to build on this momentum heading into the final stretch of A-10 play.”
Dayton finished with 15 shot attempts of its own and improved to 7-3-3 overall and 1-2-2 in the Atlantic 10. Fordham, which suffered its second league loss, fell to 3-2-1 in conference play.
The win matters beyond the two early goals. Dayton had gone winless through its first four A-10 matches, and a home result against a Fordham side sitting ahead of it in the league table keeps the Flyers in the conference-tournament picture as the schedule turns toward its final stretch.
Dayton goes back on the road on Wednesday, Oct. 21, traveling to face Rhode Island at the URI Soccer Complex at 7 p.m. Fordham also plays Wednesday, visiting Davidson in North Carolina.
