Oct. 29, 2008
The University of Dayton women's soccer team has clinched a spot in the Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Championship that will be held in St. Louis Nov. 6-9. It's the 13th consecutive playoff berth for the Flyers who are now battling for a first-round bye and must win their next two games to do so. Dayton hosts Fordham this Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Baujan Field for a Halloween night matchup. The Rams are currently in second place in the A-10 standings. UD will then host La Salle Sunday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. Dayton will celebrate its four seniors before the game: Amanda Gallow, Kim Sacher, Deana Waintraub, and Stephanie Wurth.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Friday night the Flyers will celebrate Halloween - youth who wear their Halloween costume to the match will receive free admission and UD staff members will hand out candy.
Red Scare is giving away a Dayton to Daytona trip at halftime. Students have to be dressed in either a Red Scare T-shirt or a Halloween costume to enter the contest. Pizza will also be handed out during the game.
SERIES INFORMATION
UD leads the series against Fordham, 8-1-3. The last time these two teams faced off was in the 2007 Atlantic 10 Championship semifinal on November 10 in Charlotte, N.C. The Rams advanced on penalty kicks, 4-3. Dayton's only loss to the Rams was in 2005.
The Flyers are 13-2-0 all-time against La Salle. Dayton won the last meeting 2-1 in Philadelphia. Junior Mandi Back scored both goals against the Explorers. The last time UD lost to La Salle was a 1-0 setback on Oct. 22, 2006.
FLYER NOTES
Dayton is 12-5-1 overall and 6-2-1 in A-10 heading into the final weekend of regular season action. The Flyers are in third place in the conference standings with 19 points, behind first-place Charlotte's 27 and Fordham's 22. To secure the No. 2 seed and first-round bye in the A-10 Championship the Flyers need to beat Fordham in head-to-head competition. If they so, and the Rams beat Xavier Sunday, Dayton also has to beat La Salle Sunday to secure second.
The Flyers continue to lead the Atlantic 10 in shots (305). UD has outshot opponents by more than 100 (305 to 190). Dayton is third in the conference for goals scored (33), goals per game (1.83), assists (28), and assists per game (1.56).
Dayton is also getting it done on defense. The Flyers are second in the A-10 for goals against average (0.91) and tied for second in goals allowed (17). The Dayton defense is tied for fourth in the conference for shutouts with six.
Junior Mandi Back is fourth in the A-10 in shots, firing off 53 for 2.94 shots per game. She was held to just two shots combined against nationally-ranked Charlotte and Saint Louis this past weekend. She leads UD with six goals and 15 points. Sophomore Jerica DeWolfe is 10th in the A-10 in shots with 42.
Junior Colleen Gibson is ranked fifth the A-10 in assists and assists per game. She has seven on the season for 0.50 per game, which is 35th best in the NCAA National Ranking Summary.
Seven different players have scored game-winning goals for the Flyers, including senior Amanda Gallow who is tied for second in the A-10 with three game-winning scores.
Thirteen different players have scored goals for the Flyers this season and seven different players have scored multiple goals. Twelve players have dished out assists, with six players having multiple assists.
The UD defense is allowing 0.94 goals per game, which ranks them second in the A-10. Senior goalkeeper Deana Waintraub is third in the A-10 in goals against average and boasts a 0.85 GAA, and she is eighth with a .771 save percentage.
Deana Waintraub is ranked 62nd in the NCAA for goals against average (.85). The Flyers are 10-2-1 when she is in goal this season.
UD boasts the best home attendance average of any Atlantic 10 school. Dayton is averaging 667 fans a game at Baujan Field. The next closest is Charlotte with 560 fans per home game. UD's game against Indiana (Aug. 22) drew 1,213 fans, the seventh best all-time attendance mark in Dayton women's soccer history.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS - FORDHAM
Fordham (10-4-2, 7-1-1 Atlantic 10) is currently second in the A-10, on a five-game unbeaten streak and clinched its third consecutive berth to the A-10 Championship tournament with a 3-0 win against UMass on Senior Day in Bronx, N.Y. The Rams' only conference loss came against Duquesne, a 1-0 setback on Oct. 5. The Flyers beat the Dukes 4-1 on Oct. 19. Two of Fordham's losses have come against nationally-ranked opponents; No. 9 Duke (L 2-0) on Sept. 19 and No. 3 North Carolina (L 6-0) on Sept .21. The Flyers also suffered a loss to Duke - 3-1, on Sept. 12 at Baujan Field.
The Rams are 3-3-2 this season when playing away from their home venue of Jack Coffey Field.
Senior Kim Boulos leads the Rams with seven goals (fifth in the A-10) and 17 points. She has posted four game-winning goals this season, which is tops in the conference. Senior Katie Sanchez leads the team in assists with four. She also leads the conference in shots per game (3.31). Fordham has had 11 different players score goals and dish out assists.
Junior goalkeeper Jen Byer has a sparkling 0.84 goals against average for the Rams, which is second in the Atlantic 10. Fordham is third in the Atlantic 10 in shutouts, posting seven this season.
Fordham has fouled the least of any A-10 program with only 121 assessed this season, compared to 250 by La Salle, which leads the league in fouls.
Ness Selmani is in his 13th season as head coach of the Rams and has amassed a record of 108-109-25 at Fordham.
LA SALLE
La Salle (8-7-3, 4-3-2 A-10) is currently in seventh place in the Atlantic 10 standings, one spot on the outside of a conference playoff berth. The Explorers are on a four-game unbeaten streak, including their 4-1 win against Rhode Island on Senior Day.
Freshman Dana O'Brien and junior Melanie Gamble lead La Salle in scoring with seven goals each, which is tied for fifth in the A-10. Junior Traci DePasquale leads the Explorers in assists with nine, tied for fourth in the conference.
The Explorers are 2-4-2 when playing on the road this season.
La Salle is second in the A-10 in shots (270), points (96) and assists (34).
Sophomore Melissa Sanger has made 78 saves in goals for the Explorers, fifth best in the A-10.
Paul Royal is in his sixth season as head coach of the Explorers and has a 46-59-9 record at La Salle.
TERRIFIC TUCKER
Head Coach Mike Tucker's Flyer squads are 109-21-9 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. UD has won seven of the 13 conference regular season titles. In addition, his teams have won the A-10 Tournament Championship five times (1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004).
LOOKING AHEAD
The Flyers will play in their 13th Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament Nov. 6-9 in St. Louis.
LAST WEEK RECAP
Dayton split two games in A-10 action, falling 2-1 to nationally-ranked and A-10 leader Charlotte, but besting Saint Louis 1-0. |
