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Oct. 31, 2006

The Dayton Flyers look to win their third Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Tournament Championship in the previous four seasons starting with an Opening Round match against the Rhode Island Rams on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Robert R. Herman Stadium on the campus of Saint Louis University.

Link to 2006 Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Championship

Dayton's five Atlantic 10 Conference titles are the most of any program in league history. UD, 8-6-3 overall and 6-3-0 in the A-10, makes its 10th consecutive appearance in the tournament championship. UD enjoyed a winning October going 5-3-0, but are 1-2-1 at neutral sites in 2006.

Standing in the Flyers way on Thursday are the Rams who tied with the Saint Louis Billikens for second place in the conference standings. Rhode Island, 11-9-0 overall and 7-2-0 A-10, makes its fifth consecutive appearance in the A-10 Championship and seeks their first-ever league title.

Earlier this year, the Flyers rolled past the Rams 2-0 as freshmen Colleen Gibson and Caitlin Proffitt scored for UD. Freshman goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore made all four of her saves during a 13-minute span in the middle of the second half to earn the shutout.

The last time these two teams met in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, the Flyers picked up a 1-0 overtime win for their last Atlantic 10 crown.

The Charlotte 49ers (13-4-2 overall, 8-1-0 A-10) earned the tournament's top seed after winning its first-ever A-10 regular season title by virtue of their dramatic 3-2 double-overtime win over Dayton on Sunday. The 49ers, who earned a first-round bye, enter the 2006 Championship riding a six-match winning streak.

Defending champion Saint Louis Billikens (12-3-2/7-2-0) earned the No. 2 seed and first-round bye by virtue of the league's tie-breaking procedures. The Billikens won their final five contests of the regular season and boast a mark of 8-0-1 at home.

Thursday's second opening round match features the fourth-seed La Salle Explorers (9-9-1/6-2-1) against No. 5 seed Fordham Rams (12-6-0/6-3-0) at 8:30 p.m. The Explorers earned a critical 2-1 double-overtime win over the George Washington Colonials on Saturday to advance to the Championship for the second time in three seasons. Fordham earned its first berth in the A-10 Championship since 2003 after winning its final two A-10 matches.

Semifinal action commences on Friday with No. 1 Charlotte squaring off against the lowest remaining seed at 6 p.m., followed by No. 2 Saint Louis taking on the highest remaining seed at 8:30 p.m.

The 2006 A-10 Championship Finals will be held on Sunday, November 5 at 1 p.m. The match will be aired on College Sports Television on tape delay at 6 p.m.

Single-day tickets can be purchased at the stadium for $6, while a three-day pass is $15. For complete coverage of the 2006 Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Championship, including live stats and game recaps, log on to http://atlantic10.cstv.com/.