Dutch Lions Ready For the Playoffs

Published on August 22, 2013 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Dayton Dutch Lions News Release


DAYTON, Ohio - The Dayton Dutch Lions wrapped up the USL PRO regular season last Saturday night by triumphing over the Harrisburg City Islanders by a final score of 3-1. The victory sealed a spot in the playoffs for the Dutch Lions for the first time in club history. Now the Dutch Lions will travel to Virginia for a quarter-final match against the Richmond Kickers on Saturday night.

Dutch Lions President Mike Mossel stated, "It's a great accomplishment for the whole club that we qualified for the playoffs. When we joined the league, our goal was to build slowly toward competing for one of the top four positions every year after our fifth year. In our first year, we finished in last place with 12 points. In our second year, we finished ahead of two teams and earned 22 points. Now this year, we accumulated 37 points, and there were five teams below us in the standings. We are right on track."

It was a wildly successful regular season for the Dutch Lions by any standards. Dayton put together record of 10-9-7 against a table of formidable USL PRO opponents, setting multiple team records along the way. The time, though, for reflecting on achievements must wait. The postseason has arrived and there is more to be accomplished.

The road to a USL PRO championship for the Dutch Lions would be a literal one. Dayton earned the eighth seed in the post-season tournament, which means that they would have to win three consecutive playoff matches away from the Gem City in order to claim the title.

The first stop on the post-season itinerary is City Stadium, where Dayton will take on the top-seeded Richmond Kickers. The Kickers finished the regular season with a record of 15-1-10. The Dutch Lions faced the regular season champions twice in the regular season. Richmond swept the home-and-away series by an aggregate score of 8-4.

"Although Richmond has beaten us twice this season and has not lost a game at home, we strongly believe that we can beat them," said Mossel. "We scored four goals against them in two games. The problem was giving up goals too easily. They have guys that will punish you for small mistakes. I look at the speed we have up front and the way we played in our last match against Harrisburg, and I believe that we can beat Richmond"

The first kick for the postseason contest between Dayton and the Richmond is scheduled for 7:00 PM on Saturday evening. The Dutch Lions invite all their fans to view the game at The Dublin Pub in Dayton's Oregon District. For more information on the Dayton Dutch Lions, please visit www.daytondutchlionsfc.com.

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