Oct. 24, 2008

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DAYTON, Ohio - The Flyer men's soccer team celebrated its Senior Day in style with a 1-0 win against Fordham Friday night at Baujan Field in an Atlantic 10 match.

Prior to the match six seniors were recognized in a pregame ceremony that included national anthems of each player's home country. The players were: Alex Davis (United States), Florian DeCamps (France), Isaac Kissi (Ghana), Daniel March (Wales), Joe Olwig (United States), and Simeon Zapryanov (Bulgaria).

"They're a part of the first class I brought in. It's always hard to see your seniors go. They've really contributed to our success," said UD head coach Dennis Currier. "Hearing all their national anthems, I thought, was really special."

It was only fitting that a senior had the honors of providing the game-winning goal. Kissi notched his fourth goal of the season and what a goal it was in the 12th minute of the match. After a long ball down the line from sophomore Tommy Watkins, junior Alex Torda fed the ball to Kissi at the top of the box. Kissi unleashed a powerful shot that caught the keeper off guard and it went sailing past his left.

"You saw a great ball from Tommy Watkins in the back and then Torda did a great job of feeding it into him in the slot," said Currier. "Kissi just one-timed it and put it on the frame. I thought it was just a great goal."

"I found space, took my chances and it paid off," said Kissi. "It's the first time I've sang my national anthem in more than a year. I was so excited and I felt it in my heart. It paid off with the goal. I thank the team work, I thank my guys. Our guys give their all and it's going to take us places."

The goal held up and kept Dayton (10-2-2, 4-0-1 A-10) on track with its nine-game unbeaten streak. The Flyers are also the only unbeaten team remaining in the A-10 men's soccer standings.

"Our defense held tight for the rest of the game," said Currier. "We've been very compact. The defense realized we weren't getting out like we wanted. We'll take a win after the emotional weekend we had after beating Saint Louis."

The match was evenly contested as Dayton put up 12 shots and the Rams (6-6-1, 2-2-0 A-10) posted 11. Freshman Tyler Picard had four saves in goal for the Flyers to gain his fifth shutout this season, and improve his record to 8-0-1. Picard made some stunning saves to preserve the shutout, including in the 67th minute, making a diving save to his right on a point-blank range shot.

"This match was critical for us," said Currier. "Fordham has had some good wins this year. We want to maintain that first-place lead. I really think it's going to take five games to get into the tournament and we're not there yet."

Dayton takes on La Salle this Sunday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. at Baujan Field.