Coach Dennis Currier will write updates throughout the season.

Dayton Flyers head men's soccer coach Dennis Currier continues his journal to keep Flyer alumni updated about the program they helped build.

2009 Season
Alumni Blog - Final

The season has ended and I apologize for not keeping us as well as last year. We got on a roll and spent so much time preparing for each game. I ended the last blog with Saint Louis and Charlotte coming into town. What an exciting weekend that was for the Flyers! On Friday night, we celebrated senior night against 10th ranked Charlotte who had beaten Wake Forest earlier in the year 3-1 on the road. Prior to the came, I spoke to our team about how each season is climbing a mountain. At the start, we got knocked off and had to start the climb all over. By the time we played Charlotte, we had climbed quite a bit back closer to the peak. A big win against them would give us a better view. The response was fantastic. We came out and beat Charlotte 3-0 and controlled the entire match from start to finish. We controlled the air and we controlled the tempo and put them under pressure up until the final whistle. Our bread and butter have been set pieces and we scored three brilliant goals to earn one of the best victories at Baujan Field. Our sports information department did a great job honoring our seniors and their family and once again played all of the national anthems of each country a senior represented.

Coming off an emotional win, I knew Sunday's match against Saint Louis would be difficult. They were riding a big win streak and had finally got healthy again. The game was very intense and it seemed as if one goal would be the deciding factor. After 25 minutes of play, our central midfielder found Popella running through and we had a 1v1 break-away. The SLU defender took out Popella and we converted a penalty kick. In the second half we had a few close calls to go up 2-0 and put the game out of reach but we could not find the back of the net. In the last 5 minutes, St. Louis pushed forward and applied all sorts of pressure. Our back four along with Picard would hold on and we would defeat St. Louis and Charlotte in the same weekend- a very difficult task. This put us in first place with two games to play.

Our final game at Baujan would be against rival Xavier. The seniors were 0-2-1 against Xavier since arriving in 2006 and not much needed to be said prior to the game. A win would clinch a share of the title. A loss would put the title in jeopardy. The night was filled with excitement and it just seemed to be a matter of time before we opened up the scoring. On a great individual effort, Popella did just that. He sent a laser into the side netting from 25 yards out. In the 2nd half, another great goal was scored off a set piece when Torda headed in far post. Things would only get better. A service to the far post found McCreary who headed back across the 18 to Popella who blasted it in to go up 3-0. With about 10 minutes left, I attempted to make as many subs as possible and get the rest of the seniors on the field. Unfortunately, we could not get the subs in until 3 minutes remaining. Hartman and Basil entered in. With under a minute, the ball was played into Hartman who whipped a bent ball into the back post and beat the keeper to make it 4-0. It was one of the best goals of the year and it came from a player who truly deserved it. Our players erupted into celebration. The water bucket was dumped over my head and we had claimed a piece of the Atlantic 10 Regular Season Title.

Due to a snow storm cancellation, we had to go back up to St. Bonaventure to play our last match of the season. Both teams had earned a bid to the A-10 Tournament but a seed was on the line for them and for us, it was whether we would share the title or win it out right. A tough game to manage as we did not want to get anyone injured or carded but we also wanted to win the title outright. St. Bonnies had put together a very tough team this year and even tougher to play at home. On top of that, it was their senior day. They came out on fire and put us under a barrage of pressure. Not long after that, they scored a big time goal. We finally settled in a bit and started our attack but there were a few close calls on their transition game in which Picard came up big to give us a chance. The game became more intense and I was forced to make many decisions of the course of the next 45 minutes in terms of substitutions. When Renner went down with an injury, we began substituting. The guys responded well and kept up the pressure. After several near misses, the time began to run out. It seemed as if we would be sharing the title. With less than 5 minutes to go, Torda was taken down in the box but no call. With 2 minutes to go, we hit the crossbar. Was it meant to be? Twenty seconds to go, the ball was clipped in behind the defense and Popella got onto it- a 1v1 break-away. Right before releasing the shot, their defender smothered him and it was a penalty. Popella converted and we were headed to OT. On the kick off of overtime, St. Bonnies would send seven numbers forward and their top attacking player would unleash a blast from 30 yards out that Picard stretched way out to save. On the ensuing goal punt, we would deflect it forward and find Popella on the right side that would beat their defender and then dribble past the goalkeeper and finish it in the lower left hand corner. The team erupted. We owned the title outright.

Heading into the A-10 tournament, we were the No. 1 seed, had an 8-1 overall conference record, and were 13-1 in our last 14 games. The host was Rhode Island. We received the bye in the first round and waited to see who our opponent was. Charlotte was eliminated by Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure upset Fordham. The top seed plays the lowest remaining seed so we would face St. Bonaventure while Saint Louis would face Rhode Island. On Friday, a weather front would come in and the winds would pick up to 35 mph with rain. Even through tough conditions, our boys did well to apply a lot of pressure and take control of the game from the start. St. Bonnie does well sending numbers forward but we did extremely well on the transition to keep them on their heels. Right before half, Kissi slotted home our first goal. In the second half, we created chance after chance and it seemed as if we would put the game out of reach. Their goalkeeper was fantastic on the night and prevented us from opening the game up. With 15 minutes to go, the strange game of soccer came to life and what seemed their only chance on goal in the second half found the back of the net to equalize. We needed a quick response. Five minutes later, we got a set piece and just like so many other times this season, we finished. A few minutes later, Popella would score a brilliant goal to seal the game. We were headed to our second straight A-10 Tournament Championship game. Saint Louis would be our opponent after they defeated Rhode Island 3-2 in the late game. It is always tough to beat a team twice in year especially one that is rich in tradition. The game would live up to its hype and both teams would battle hard. Once again, it was obvious to see that it would become a stalemate and 1 goal would win the game. Chances were limited on both sides but the real battles were taking place in the midfield. When one team would seem to get the advantage, it would change in favor of the other. With 20 minutes to go. Saint Louis would find a rebound in front of the goal and finish. With less than five minutes, we would get our last chance which came from a service far post but the header would go wide. Numbers were sent forward and with less than two minutes, Saint Louis would capitalize on the counter break to put the game out of reach. It would only be the second loss in our last 14 games.

I still felt confident for an NCAA at large bid when we arrived back and I reviewed our case. 14-5-1 overall record, A-10 regular season champions, 14-2 over the last 16 games (one of the best in college soccer), reached the finals of the A-10 tournament, signature win over Charlotte. We are ranked #1 in the region, #21 in the nation, ranked 13th in the nation in scoring offense, ranked 16th in the nation in shut-out percentage, 18th in the nation in won-loss percentage, outscored our opponents 19-3 in our last nine games, coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008. The one area of concern was strength of schedule. We felt we had the toughest conference schedule this year playing 4 of the 5 teams that made it into the A-10 tournament along with UMASS who won the league last year. We added a Big East team to the non-conference schedule along with two teams who had made the NCAA Tournament in 2008 (Denver and Oakland). Unfortunately, we received penalty points for our losses in Colorado back in early September that would stay with us through the year. However, I felt the hottest teams would be selected and we had proven that in my mind. Unfortunately, we were not selected.

This senior class will go down as one of the best at Dayton. It was extremely tough to see that their season ended in Rhode Island when I felt they deserved to still be playing. They have come a long way as a team. We still joke with them today about how bad we were in 2006 with so many young players. We lacked ability, athleticism and leadership. Two years later we had enough ability to compete, became one of the more athletic teams in college soccer (special thanks to Mark Thobe) and had the necessary component of leadership to win championships. As a staff, we challenged them every day to make a difference and they responded. They have paved the foundation for others to build on. They leave behind a legacy that will never be forgotten.

I appreciate all the support through emails and letters. Our support for the Flyers is top-notch. A large thank you to all the families who made it out to Rhode Island including all of my family. Until next season!

Go Flyers
Coach Currier

Alumni Blog #4 - Oct. 29, 2009

It has been tougher to keep up with the blogs this year so I apologize for that. We have spent every minute on preparing for the upcoming games and 2010 recruiting due to all of our losses (11 seniors) after this season.

We finished the non-conference schedule by beating SIU-E 3-0 and Canisius 2-1 on the road. We played one of our best games of the year against SIU-E who had come into the match only allowing 3 goals against all season. The game against Canisius was played in very poor weather and we had to work very hard in the last 20 minutes to come from behind and win the match. It put our non-conference record at 5-3-1, just short of our overall goal. However, there is nothing tougher than digging yourself out of a hole when you begin the season at 0-3-1 so I was satisfied to win five straight matches.

Our conference started off with Rhode Island and UMASS with both teams coming off great seasons in 2008. Rhode Island was our first opponent in last year's A-10 Tournament Championship. The game was played in a down pour of rain and our boy's responded very well with two first half goals. We did not let up the second half either and were able to put the game out of reach with two more goals. It was a great way to get started.

On Sunday, we faced UMass who we played in the A-10 Tournament Championship last year in which we captured the title with a 1-0 victory over them. It was yet another exciting match and UMass was a tough team to break down defensively. With few chances on either side of the ball, it was obvious the game would go into overtime. Nearing the end of the second overtime, Alex Torda made a very good play on the left side and broke pressure. He unleashed a quick left footed shot that surprised their keeper and the ball found its way through his hands and into the back of the net. It was a great feeling and with the win, we were on top of the tables.

When we got to St. Bonaventure the next weekend, we woke up to about 5 inches of snow and the match had to be cancelled so we headed off to Pittsburgh to face Duquesne. It felt like we had been on the road for quite a long time with the cancellation and all the travel so you could tell the boy's were ready to take the field. It was great getting back to the field we captured last year's title as well. In the first 20 minutes, we had Duquesne down 2-0. In the second half, they received a very soft penalty kick but Picard came up big and saved the shot and sealed the win.

This past weekend, we headed to Richmond and George Washington riding an eight-game win streak. On Friday, we faced Richmond on a windy night. The first half we had the wind and dominated play but did not do well to finish. In the second half, the game turned to Richmond's favor and they kept us under pressure. We were hoping to get the game into overtime but under a minute left in the game, they put a ball through that found their forward in front of our net and he was able to deflect it in for the win. On Sunday, you could tell the boy's were disappointed and did not want that feeling again that they experienced Friday night. We came out flying against GW and were able to take the early lead. Unfortunately though, we allowed them to stay in the match as we could not convert the second goal and one of the rare times they broke pressure, they were able to tie it up. Our boy's reacted quickly though and came right back and scored the winning goal.

The big weekend is here now. This is the weekend that can determine some of the results of the A-10 Tournament qualifiers. It is a weekend for us that can define whether we are a good team or a great team. Charlotte comes in as one of the Top 10 teams in the nation and Saint Louis is a perennial powerhouse. Nerves and excitement are on an extreme high. It is a great opportunity for our team and there would be nothing better than getting two wins on senior weekend. This class of seniors is a special group that will never be forgotten.

Go Flyers!

Alumni Blog #3 - Sept. 29, 2009

Sorry for the delay in the blog. We have been very busy fixing defensive problems. We headed off to Denver to play two away games. Denver won the MPSF last year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Our first half against Denver was spectacular and Isaac Kissi scored a terrific goal to take the lead. In the second half, we came out flat and allowed them to tie the game up. With 20 minutes to go, a Denver player two footed Kissi from behind. In a very strange occurrence, the referee issued Kissi a yellow card and then a red card. First off, the call should have gone against the Denver player. Second off, Kissi had no prior yellow cards so I assume the referee thought he had one yellow. In any case, we had to play a man short the rest of the game and in overtime. Denver eventually would capitalize in OT to win the game; very tough match to lose. The red card incident is still being reviewed by the national office but the result will not change so we must move on.

We did not react very well to the emotional loss on Sunday against Air Force and they really took it to us. Everyone on the team played poorly and we came out of Colorado with two losses and lacking any confidence that we gained from the draw against Oakland. We knew the first part of the season we would face difficult competition (2 NCAA Tournament Teams- Denver/Oakland and a Big East team favored to earn an NCAA Tournament bid in 2009- Cincinnati). However, we also felt we would be able to get a better start.

It was refreshing to come back to Dayton and play at home and we had a very exciting match against Bowling Green and finally got a 4-3 victory after we started to exchange goals. Defensively, we still had several issues but our offense was relentless. On Sunday, we faced in-city rivals Wright State. We knew the game would be competitive since there are so many bragging rights involved. WSU played a low pressure system against us for the second straight year making it difficult to penetrate in the early going but we had the majority of possession. We finally got the goal we needed and then the rain started to pick up in the second half. After several near misses to put the game away, WSU tied the match up on a corner kick. This changed the scope of the game as it became a back and forth game with more space to work with. It was going to come down to will then. In overtime, we started to press forward and received an indirect kick outside the 18. Sonny Renner confidently accepted the kick and then he hit a laser into the upper 90 to win the match. It is always a good feeling to win in overtime. Even with the win though, we felt we still had not played consistently over 90 minutes.

Leading up to the Friday match against SIUE, we spent a great deal of time working with our block of 8 and our recovery positions on the defensive transition side of the ball. We set several goals prior to the game as well with our main emphasis on earning a shut-out. Offensively, we were ambitious as well asking the team to score three goals against a team that had only allowed three goals all season. Even with a late start time and poor weather, we came out to a wonderful crowd at Baujan and you could certainly feel the energy. We took control of the match from the start of the whistle. We controlled the aerial battles and won the majority of the 50/50 challenges throughout the first half. SIUE maintains possession very well but our block of 8 did very well once they attempted to penetrate forward. Upon winning the ball, we were very sharp on the transition getting the ball wide and then across the field. Going into halftime at 1-0, we emphasized to the team that it was critical to remain consistent, preserve the shutout and score early in the 2nd half to put the game away. The team responded and we found ourselves up 2-0 early in the second half and our confidence continued to increase. We found the third goal with about 15 minutes to play and then all focus shifted to getting the shutout. When the final whistle blew, we had accomplished every goal we set for the game. By far, it was our best performance of the season.

Although I am not convinced that we are fully there, this is a good step in the right direction. This game showed everyone what we are capable of. We must now meet that consistency and balance in the rest of our games. We finish off our non-conference schedule this week against Alabama A&M and Canisius. A&M has tremendous individual talent and Canisius is always tough to play away especially on a Sunday afternoon which we have not proven to be at our best. It is critical we find ways to win both of these games so we can enter conference play with a respectable 5-3-1 record.

It was great seeing Ian Mulligan and Brennan Randquist out in Denver. Both were able to make the Denver game.

Go Flyers!

Alumni Blog #2 - Sept. 4, 2009

Well, we certainly did not want to start off the season with a loss but UC deserved the match. We talked about the target on our backs all pre-season but sometimes that is not enough. I believe it is clear now that teams will come here with much more intensity. UC did just that. They controlled the aerial battles all game which I felt was the biggest difference. We did not do well on second balls either. Offensively, I felt we had a very strong performance but you can only expect so much when you are chasing the game the entire match.

Jeff Popella and Isaac Kissi really gave us a spark offensively. The UC keeper came up huge for them to preserve either the one- or two-goal lead they maintained. We rang the post at least three times in the match so I was content that we were creating chances and that was one area of concern in the pre-season matches.

Defense was our biggest issue. However, our defense has been the backbone of our team the past three years and I am confident they will regain their form soon enough. Our shaping was solid but individual mistakes really let us down. I am also a big believer in creating your own luck and UC did a great job keeping our back four under constant pressure whether it was in the run of play, transitional play and even through distribution from their goalkeeper. They deserved the match.

We have had three days to regroup. Losses have always been tough to handle for me especially in front of such a great crowd. I have to keep telling myself that our start last year was nothing of significance and there will be some critical games in front of us that could change the scope of our season. Last year, it was the Coastal Carolina game on the road. It was a critical win that sparked the team. As my father always says, it is not how you start, it is how you finish.

Our toughest stretch is now. We head to Oakland to play a 2008 NCAA Tournament team, then off to Colorado to play another NCAA Tournament team (Denver) and then play Air Force away. All three opponents will offer plenty of adversity for us and we will be looking for the team to respond.

Great news for Chris Rolfe - he earned his opportunity in Europe with Aalborg! Congrats to him for this big accomplishment!

Go Flyers!