Saturday saw the season’s largest crowd for the Dayton Dutch Lions, thanks to the appearance of world soccer legend Ruud Gullit and a new venue in West Carrollton. The crowd of nearly 900 was treated to a great night of soccer, a contest that ended in a 1-1 draw.
The first half contained both goals and a lot of back-and-forth action. The speed of play was lightning-quick as both sides tested the opposition’s goalkeeper. LA was the first to break through with a Chandler Hoffman goal in the 41st.
The Dutch Lions wouldn’t be beaten on such a big night and responded with a penalty kick from Columbus Crew loanee Aaron Schoenfeld just two minutes later.
The 1-1 halftime score would hold to the end despite a red card being dealt to Dayton’s Shintaro Harada in the 65th minute. A stellar campaign from Dutch Lion keeper Matt Williams literally kept the home side in the game, giving them the ever-valuable point in the always competitive USL PRO.
“I think the first twenty five minutes we really played how we want to play,” Dayton Dutch Lions head coach Sid van Druenen concluded. “Then we fell into old habits, playing long ball. That is how we conceded the goal, but we finished the first half strong, forcing the penalty kick.”
The Dutch Lions (2-3-2) now hit the road for two important road games. The first being Wednesday, May 14 against Chicago’s Schwaben AC in the U.S. Open Cup. They won’t have much rest as they face the Harrisburg City Islanders (1-4-1) on Saturday, May 17 at 2 pm.
