DAYTON TO PLAY MASSACHUSETTS IN FIRST ROUND OF A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP
After closing the regular season on a five-game unbeaten streak, the Dayton Flyers look to ride the momentum and win the conference tournament for the first time since the 1998 season as UD will play the Massachusetts Minutemen on Thursday in the first round of the 2007 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship. Dayton needed a 6-1 victory over the Duquesne Dukes, as well as help from other teams to qualify for the final spot in the six-team tournament.

At home, Dayton went unbeaten in 2007 with a 7-0-2 mark. The winner of the Thursday's game will face either No. 1 seed Saint Louis or No. 2 seed Rhode Island on Friday. The conference champion will gain an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Fans can follow the game on Gametracker and there will be a free live video broadcast at www.atlantic10.org.

ABOUT MASSACHUSETTS
The Minutemen enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed winning three of their last four. UMass clinched its tournament spot this past weekend with a 3-0 win at Saint Joseph's on Friday before losing at Temple on Sunday. This will be UMass' 10th trip to the A-10 Tournament since joining the league in 1987. All-time, the Minutemen are 4-6-2 and last won the conference title in 2001. UMass has made it to the tournament finals on four occasions: 1992, 1994, 1995, 2001. Sophomores Bryan Hogan and Mark DeSantis lead the Minutemen offensively with 12 points (5g, 2a) and 10 points (4g, 2a) respectively. In the latest NSCAA/adidas® Middle Atlantic Regional Rankings, the Minutemen are ranked eighth.

QUICKLY ABOUT DAYTON
This is the 51st season of Dayton Flyers men's soccer. UD showcases an all-time record of 385-348-57 (.524). When the 2007 season concludes the Flyers will have had a winning record in nine of the last 11 seasons. UD also advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1997 and 1998. Head coach Dennis Currier ranks sixth on the Flyers' all-time list in coaching victories at 27 just six behind Jerry Butcher.

SERIES STUFF
Massachusetts holds the all-time series lead at 8-5-0. Earlier this season the Flyers lost to the Minutemen 3-0 in Amherst, Mass. The last time Dayton defeated UMass at Baujan Field was back in 2003. This will be the second time in conference history that UMass and Dayton will face each other in the league tournament. The last time they met was in the 2001 semifinals when the tournament was hosted last by the Flyers with UMass winning 4-1.

UD RANKED NINTH IN MIDDLE ATLANTIC REGION
With a winning record in the 2007 season, the Dayton Flyers are ranked in eighth in the latest NSCAA/adidas® Middle Atlantic Regional Rankings. Dayton has victories this season over Duquesne, Temple, Saint Joseph's, Oakland, Wright State, Butler, Eastern Illinois, Sacramento State, St. Francis and La Salle.

LONG NAMED ATLANTIC 10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Graduate student Gary Long converted not one but two penalty kicks in the Flyers 6-1 victory on Sunday over the Duquesne Dukes. For his efforts the Atlantic 10 selected Long as the Player of the Week. On the 2007 season, Long has two goals and four points in 14 games played. With the two goals on Sunday, Long doubled his career point total. The veteran midfielder in 30 career games with the Flyers has two goals and two assists for six points. Long is the second Player of the Week recipient this season for the Flyers and third member to earn an A-10 weekly award. The other two award winners earlier this year were Jeff Popella earning Player of the Week honors and Josh Albers tallying the Rookie of the Week award.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT
Sophomore Alex Torda has been on fire for most of 2007 for the Flyers. He leads the team in goals (6), assists (5) and points (17) through 18 games this season. Torda recorded his first game-winning goal of the season in a 2-1 victory over Oakland and has scored a goal or an assist in six of his last 12 games.

FINDING HIS MO-JOE
Junior Joe Olwig has been nothing but clutch for the Flyers. In 13 games Olwig has two game-winning goals, matching his career high. After scoring just one goal in 11 games last season, Olwig has rebounded and ranks third on the team with four goals and fifth in points with nine.

ZAC ATTACK IN GOAL
Senior Zac Gibbens is among the Atlantic 10 leaders in victories, goals against average and save percentage. The Loveland, Colo. native is 10-4-4 with a 0.90 goals against average and a .785 save percentage with six shutouts. Among Atlantic 10 goalies, Gibbens is one of four goalkeepers who have played every minute in net for his team.

POSH JOSH
Freshman Josh Albers is the only Flyer this year to earn the A-10 Rookie of the Week award. Since being inserted in the starting lineup, Albers recorded two goals and an assist in 10 games. The Cincinnati native also leads all freshman Flyers in scoring and is tied for fourth on the team in goals scored.

FANTASTICALLY FLORIAN
Junior Florian DeCamps reached an impressive milestone with career highs in goals and points after tallying a marker against the Saint Joseph's Hawks. On the 2007 season, DeCamps has three goals and four assists for 10 points.

LENDING A HELPING HAND-BURY
As one of the keys to the Flyer defense, sophomore Ryan Handbury looks to improve on a stellar freshman season in which he earned Atlantic 10 Honorable Mention honors. Handbury was one of three Flyers to start all 17 games in 2006 and scored a goal on eight shots and had an assist. This season, Handbury is one of four Flyers to have started in all 18 games.

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF FLYERS
UD has an international flavor on the 2007 roster with six players from overseas. The European players include graduate student Daniel March and sophomore Ryan Handbury who hail from the United Kingdom, graduate student Gary Long from Ireland, Simeon Zaprianov from Bulgaria and Florian DeCamps from France. Sophomore Isaac Kissi is in his first season with UD and is from Ghana.

MAKING THEM COUNT
With three game-winning goals on the season, sophomore Jeff Popella ranks tied for second in the A-10 and first on the team. He's netted game-winners against Temple, Wright State and La Salle. On the 2007 season, Popella is tied for second on the team in scoring with four goals and two assists for 10 points. All 10 of his points this season have come off the bench. Popella also earned A-10 co-Player of the Week honors on Oct. 29 after scoring two goals and an assist.

MONY, MONY, MONY
Junior forward Simeon Zaprianov, nicknamed "Mony", has been on the money of late for the Flyers. His converted penalty kick against Saint Joseph's proved to be the game-winner as UD picked up a 4-1 victory. Zaprianov has already reached a career high in goals (2) and points (5) this season.

IMBROGNO DISHES IT OUT
With four assists on the season, senior Tyler Imbrogno has already reached a career high. The Dayton native is second on the team in assists and ranks tied for second in scoring with 10 points. Imbrogno leads the team in shots and shots on goal.

GREAT FOR A LONG TIME
Graduate Student Gary Long has not only served as a veteran leader, but also helped the Flyers in the middle of the field. In the 15 games he has played, Dayton is 8-3-4 with him in the lineup.

HOME COOKIN'
The Flyers are averaging 2.03 goals per game at Baujan Field this season. Dayton has played well recently going 8-0-3 in its last 11 home games dating back to 2006.

THREE OF A KIND
In his coaching career with Dayton, Dennis Currier's teams are 13-0 when scoring three or more goals.

BRACKET BUSTERS
Since joining the Atlantic 10 in 1996 the Dayton Flyers are 5-4-2 all-time in championship play with a 1-1 record in shoot outs. Dayton won the Atlantic 10 Tournament in 1997 and 1998.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Two Flyers have recently made the climb into UD's record books. Senior Zac Gibbens is fourth on UD's all-time list in shutouts with seven and fifth all-time in victories with 11. Sophomore Alex Torda ranks 12th in the UD annals with .786 points per game.

THE QUICK STRIKE OFFENSE
Through 18 games in 2007, 10 different Flyers have recorded at least one goal. This productivity has helped Dayton rank fourth in the Atlantic 10 in goals per game at 1.48. Sophomore Alex Torda leads the team with six goals and ranks tied for third in the Atlantic 10 goals and points with 16. Six returning players, Florian DeCamps, Tyler Imbrogno, Jeff Popella, Joe Olwig, Simeon Zaprianov and Torda have already matched or eclipsed last season's point total.

DOING IT WITH DEFENSE
One of the reasons for the Flyers' winning record has been the solid play of its defensive core. Led by senior Zac Gibbens, the Flyers have a 0.90 goals against average on the 2007 campaign. Sophomores Randy Dennis, Ryan Handbury and Sonny Renner have solidified the back and helped UD to six shutouts on the season. At one point this season, the Flyers did not allow a goal in their last 282:25 minutes of play, Dayton's longest stretch of the season.

MASTERS OF THEIR DOMAIN
Since 1992 the Flyers have excelled at Baujan Field with an 90-34-11 record, good for a .742 winning percentage. Last season UD went 4-3-1 at home. Since becoming the exclusive home to UD soccer, Baujan Field has grown into one of the top soccer venues in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Dayton twice has played NCAA Play-In games at the historic venue -- 1997 and 1998.

UD TO HOST 2007 ATLANTIC 10 MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
The 2007 A-10 Men's Soccer Championship will be held on November 15-18 at Baujan Field in Dayton, Ohio. This will be the fifth A-10 soccer championship held at Baujan Field since opening in 1992. Baujan Field has played host to a number of post-season soccer events. The Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Championship was hosted here in 1998 and again in 2002, with the Men's Championship being played in 1996 and 1999.

GREAT GRAD RATES
The University of Dayton had nine sport programs record a perfect 100 percent Graduation Success Rate in the latest GSR Report released by the NCAA last week. Success in the classroom is nothing new for UD student-athletes. The Flyers combined cumulative grade point average is above a 3.0. In addition, UD has had 27 Academic All-Americans in the previous six years.