Game Notes
After seizing a share of its second consecutive conference regular season title, Dayton is the No. 2 seed for the 18th Atlantic 10 Women’s Soccer Championship, to be held Nov. 4-7 at URI Soccer Complex on the campus of Rhode Island.
Making a league-record 15th straight Championship appearance and vying for its seventh overall and second consecutive A-10 Championship crown, Dayton will play the highest remaining seed on Friday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m., after earning a first round bye. The Flyers earned a share of their 10th A-10 Regular Season title after defeating Xavier 2-0, while Charlotte downed Saint Joseph’s (5-1) and Temple (7-0) to also earn a share, their fourth title in five years. The 49ers earned the No. 1 seed by goal differential against common opponents. Charlotte and Dayton did not meet during the regular season.
DAYTON’S A-10 BACKGROUND
• Dayton has won the A-10 Tournament Championship more than any other team in the conference: six times (1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2009).
• UD has also won or shared 10 A-10 Regular Season titles (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010). The next closest is Massachusetts with five.
• The Flyers are 17-7 all-time in the conference tournament. Their .708 winning percentage is the best in the conference. Charlotte is next at .667 (6-3). Of the other teams in the field this year Massachusetts has a .600 record (9-6) in the tournament, while Duquesne, La Salle, and St. Bonaventure have all gone 0-3. UMass has won the tournament title four times.
• Dayton has reached the finals eight times and is 6-2 in the championship game.
HOW THE FLYERS STACK UP
Dayton went 3-0-1 this season and is 52-13-3 all-time against the teams in the field of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Women’s Soccer Championship.
| |
2010 Result |
All-Time Record |
| Charlotte |
DNP |
1-5-1 |
| Duquesne |
W 2-1 OT (Oct. 22) |
13-1-0 |
| La Salle |
W 2-0 (Oct. 3) |
16-2-0 |
| Massachusetts |
W 5-0 (Oct. 10) |
11-4-0 |
| St. Bonaventure |
L 2-1 (Oct. 24) |
12-1-2 |
UD WOMEN’S SOCCER RANKED
• Dayton is currently ranked No. 2 in the Mid- Atlantic Region by the NSCAA, behind Hofstra who is 17-1-0. Dayton is receiving seven votes in the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com National Rankings and is ranked No. 32 overall.
• UD is No. 17 on the TopDrawerSoccer Tournament 64 Rankings. They are also ranked No. 29 in the 2010 NCAA Women’s Soccer RPI Ranking, No. 32 in the Soccer Times Top 25 Poll and No. 37 in the College Soccer 360 Poll.
UP NEXT
The 2010 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship Selection show will be aired live on Monday, Nov. 8 at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
FLYER NOTES
• The Flyers are 16-3-0, and 8-1-0 in the Atlantic 10, finishing tied for first place.
• Dayton leads the A-10 in shots (331), points (126), goals scored (41), assists (44), goals allowed (10), goals against average (.52), shutouts (11) and corner kicks (124). UD has outscored A-10 opponents 24-4.
• Sophomore Colleen Williams leads the Flyers with 41 points (16 goals and 9 assists). Her 41 points lead the Atlantic 10 and are fourth in the nation. She is also third in the nation in goals scored.
• Senior keeper Lisa Rodgers is 12-1 with nine shutouts for the Flyers. Her 0.47 GAA is tops in the A-10 and ninth in the nation.
A-10 DOMINATION
The University of Dayton highlights the 2010 Women’s Soccer All-Conference accolades as announced by the Atlantic 10 on Wednesday, November 3. The Flyers claimed four of the five individual accolades on this year’s awards, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. Colleen Williams was named Offensive Player of the Year, Kathleen Beljan was selected as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year and Jerica DeWolfe claimed Midfielder of the Year, while Mike Tucker earned the nod as Coach of the Year. UD led the way with five first and second team selections. Williams, Beljan, DeWolfe were also all selected to the A-10 first team, along with goalkeeper Lisa Rodgers. Sophomore defender Kelsey Miller was a second team pick for the Flyers.Dayton also had two All-Rookie Team selections in forward Juliana Libertin and midfielder Sarah Senoyuit. Dayton also led the way on the A-10 Academic All-Conference Team with three selections. Beljan, along with senior Kelly Blumenschein and junior Emily Kenyon all represented the Flyers.
FOUR FLYERS EARN ESPN ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
The University of Dayton had four players named to the CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-District IV women’s soccer teams. The four selections were the most in District IV, and combined with the UD men’s three selections, the Dayton soccer programs had seven players honored. It was the second most in the nation in the University Division. Only Eastern Illinois, with eight selections, had more. Junior defender Kathleen Beljan led the way for Dayton with First Team honors. Junior midfielder Emily Kenyon and sophomore forward Colleen Williams were second team selections, while senior forward Kelly Blumenschein was named third team, earning ESPN Academic All-District honors for three consecutive years.
SUCCESSFUL SENIORS
CollegeSoccer360 has compiled a list of the winningest women’s senior classes (2007-’10) and the Flyers come in at No. 15 in the nation with 60 wins. When the current seniors were freshmen the Flyers posted a 13-4-4 record. As sophomores they went 15-6-1, and as juniors only lost one game, going 16-1-6. The seniors are 16-3 so far this season.
HIGH-RANKING FLYERS
In the most recent NCAA statistical rankings, Colleen Williams comes in at third in the nation for goals scored (16) and fourth for total points (341. She is also ranked 26th in assists with nine. Senior goalkeeper Lisa Rodgers is ranked ninth in the nation in goals-against average (.47) and 17th in save percentage (.885). The Flyers’ scoring offense (2.16 goals per game) is ranked 26th in the nation. Their win-loss-tie percentage of .842 is ranked 10th in the nation.
DAYTON’S SHUTDOWN “D”
The Flyers return every player on their defense that posted a school-record 15 shutouts in 2009. The Dayton defense had the second-best goals against average (GAA) in the nation at .406 and was paramount in Dayton reaching the 2009 NCAA second round after posting a shutout against No. 23 Marquette. A-10 Defensive Player of the Year Katherine Boone posted a .41 GAA, breaking the A-10 record set by former U.S. National Team goalkeeper Briana Scurry. The Flyers have a league-high 11 shutouts to their credit this season. Their goals against average of .519 is seventh in the nation and their shutout percentage of .579 is 12th in the nation.
FLYER SUCCESS
The Dayton women’s soccer program owns an overall record of 356-150-41 (.688 winning percentage) since it became a varsity program in 1984. The Flyers made NCAA Tournament Appearances in 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2009.
WILLY’S WISH
Sophomore Colleen Williams has a heart as big as her scoring ability. She has started Willy’s Wish - Dollars for Dayton. She is asking for Flyer fans to donate just $1 to help a Dayton family in need. “It may seem like a small contribution from your pocket, but put together with several others willing to help someone in need, this will change this family’s life,” said Williams. Fans can send their $1 donation to: University of Dayton Women’s Soccer Offices, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469-1220. To date, she has raised nearly $1,000.
KATHLEEN BELJAN MAKES UD HISTORY
Flyer junior defender Kathleen Beljan became the first-ever UD women’s soccer player to be named to the Missouri Athletic Club’s 2010 Hermann Trophy Watch List. Considered the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer, the recipient of the MAC’s Hermann Trophy is selected by Division I head coaches who are current members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
SIX FLYERS HONORED ON A-10 PRESEASON TEAMS
The defending Atlantic 10 champion University of Dayton Flyers dominated the 2010 preseason women’s soccer All-Conference team, as selected by the league’s head coaches. Those named to the Preseason team for UD were: Katherine Boone, Kathleen Beljan, Kelsey Miller and Colleen Williams. Juliana Libertin and Maggie Murnane were named to the preseason All-Rookie Team.
TERRIFIC TUCKER
Head Coach Mike Tucker’s Flyer squads are 129-23-8 in A-10 play. He is the only active coach in the A-10 to achieve more than 100 women’s soccer A-10 wins. In 2009, the Flyers claimed the A-10 tourney title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Tucker was named the NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. The Flyers earned a league record 13th consecutive trip to the 2008 Atlantic 10 Women’s Soccer Championship and dealt Fordham a 2-1 loss in the semifinals to give Tucker his 200th career victory. He went on to be named the Ohio Coach of the Year. UD has won nine of the 15 conference regular season titles. In addition, his teams have won the A-10 Tournament Championship six times (1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2009). He has never had a losing season as head coach of the Dayton Flyers.
