At the end of each training session, Toledo Villa's Taylor Dyson always gets some extra repetitions near the top of the goal by working on shooting the ball in space while moving to create a game-like atmosphere.

The English national's post-session work paid off massively as he scored a 90th-minute strike just above the 18-yard box as Toledo picked up a 2-1 victory against visiting Fort Wayne on Wednesday night.
"Every day after training, we're always taking them extra reps, and credit to the keepers for staying with us as well," Dyson explained. "There's a couple of guys here that if that ball falls to us, we're pretty confident that we can score like that."

Coming on to the match right after Fort Wayne tied the match on a goal from Rood Schnaider in the 55th minute, Dyson continued to lead a strong offensive charge that Toledo had all night. Coach Matt Johnson told the players after the match that he felt that the better team of the night won, but there is still room for improvement on this squad that has now won three of its last four matches.
"It's huge going into this last stretch now," Dyson said. "This is really what we needed. Over the past couple of games we've been getting better and better, and the team's getting closer and closer. We're ready for the final games."

On the goal, Dyson received the ball from Odal Brown — who was coming in from the right side — and carried it a few dribbles to the middle of the pitch before lining up the shot, beating Fort Wayne goalkeeper Aurie Briscoe to his left as Dyson buried it near the high, right side of the goal.

"The ball came to me and the defender stepped to my left and the center back was pretty far away," Dyson said, who also caught the frame on the right side of the net in the 72nd minute. "I knew if I got the right touch, I was in the right position and I hoped I could put it on net."

Ali Nasser, who started but was subbed out in the 63rd minute said he saw the play progress and knew it was going to be a good strike.
"When we saw him get on the ball with two yards in front of him, we were halfway down the line ready to celebrate," he said. "We knew it was coming ...that's all I'm gonna say."

Nasser scored a 17th-minute penalty to give Toledo an early lead. The penalty came as a Fort Wayne defender had a handball called, which gave Nasser a chance to line up and score from the spot for the second straight match.

"I always take a look at the eyes of the keeper to see where he's moving," Nasser said about his shuffle and pause leading up to his kicks, "see if I could shake them up a little bit before I go. 

"The team, though, got that beautiful PK, and we put it away."
The win is Toledo's second in a row to move to 4-0-3 on the year and places Villa one point behind Fort Wayne in the overall Valley standings. For Fort Wayne (4-1-1), it was the squad's first loss since the middle of the 2022 campaign in USL regular-season play.

On Saturday, June 8 in Dayton, Damorney Hutchinson netted a hat trick in the first half and Nasser scored on a penalty in the 80th minute as Toledo blew past the Dutch Lions 4-0.

"It's always good when you're on the scoresheet," said Hutchinson, a Jamaican National. "I came here to do my best to give my team some goals and that (hat trick) was just icing on the cake. 
"I'm happy that I could produce some brilliant moments in that game. It was a good game and a good win for us."

Story Photo Credit: Bree Bee