Crew Players help Dutch Lions 1-1 draw against the Rochester Rhinos

The night before the Crew battled to a 1-1 draw in San Jose last weekend, some members of the Black & Gold were on hand in Dayton to help the Dutch Lions earn the exact same result against the Rochester Rhinos. Kevan George, Aaron Schoenfeld, and Matt Walker were in the starting lineup for the Crew's USL PRO affiliate, and the trio were instrumental in securing a point for the Dutch Lions.

It was another solid performance for Kevan George at center back for Dayton against Rochester. The most memorable sequence came in the second half with the Rhinos on the attack and looking to double their lead. It appeared that George was about to get beaten, leaving Rochester forward JC Banks one-on-one with Dayton goalkeeper Matt Williams. George was able to recover and make the tackle, setting the stage for the heroics that would come later.

Aaron Schoenfeld played all 90 minutes on the front line for the Dutch Lions. A headed attempt seemed destined to open the scoring for Dayton in the first half, but it was cleared off the line at the last possible moment. In the final minute of stoppage time, Schoenfeld helped to dislodge the ball from the clutches of the Rhinos goalkeeper, which allowed Joe Broekhuizen to poke the equalizer across the line.

Matt Walker was utilized as an attacking midfielder on Friday night. His performance was good enough to get him an honorable mention on the USL PRO team of the week. Walker continued to demonstrate playmaking abilities when given the opportunity. Unfortunately, the Dutch Lions treated the midfield as flyover country for the better part of the second half.

Additional Affiliation Notes

The Dutch Lions competed in a friendly against the University of Dayton at Baujan Field on Friday night. Three members of the Black & Gold, Schoenfeld, George, and Ryan Finley, suited up in orange for that contest. The scrimmage ended in a scoreless draw. George and Schoenfeld were in the starting lineup at UD with a number of other regular starters for the Dutch Lions. Schoenfeld was in at center forward until halftime, when he was replaced by Ryan Finley. George vacated his spot on the back line shortly after the half.

Ross Friedman, who missed the Rochester match with an ankle injury, opted to miss the friendly against the Flyers in favor of celebrating Passover. Indications are that Friedman's ankle had healed enough to participate in the match had there not been a conflict with the religious holiday.

Matt Walker has been struggling with a minor injury since the preseason, but has appeared in all three regular season matches for Dayton. He was held out of the scrimmage to give that injury some time to heal.

Brad Stuver has yet to make an appearance in the match day 18 for the Dutch Lions. As previously stated, Dayton's technical staff is more comfortable with the goalies that train with the team. Presumably, though, Stuver is still available to the Dutch Lions for matches if the need arises.

The remaining member of the Columbus Crew to have made spent some time with the Dutch Lions is Fifi Baiden. Baiden was in action for Dayton against the RBNY Reserves to open the USL PRO season. Baiden has not been with the Dutch Lions since that time. It was a temporary loan to compensate for injuries sustained by the Dutch Lions during preseason.

As always head to Reckless Challenge for our staff has comprehensive coverage on the Dayton Dutch Lions FC and the rest of USL PRO.