Jan. 2, 2009

Finishing 2008 with a 15-4-3 record, an Atlantic 10 Championship and an NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship berth, Dayton put forth one of its best seasons in recent history. Under Head Coach Dennis Currier, the Flyers accomplished these goals with a high-flying offense and rock-steady defense. After getting knocked out in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship last season on penalty kicks, the Dayton men's soccer squad used that motivation to fuel this magical year.

A YEAR OF MANY FIRSTS FOR FLYER SOCCER
• First trip to the NCAA Tournament
• Beating Saint Louis (who was ranked No. 15 at the time)
• Alex Torda became the first UD men's soccer player to be selected as a candidate for the Hermann Trophy Watch List

10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
• The UD men's soccer team won an Atlantic 10 Championship in 1998 and celebrated the 10-year anniversary by adding another trophy to the case.
• The third-seeded Flyers played three games in four days and captured the A-10 title, going through No. 6 seeded Rhode Island (3-2), No. 2 seeded Temple (2-1 in overtime) and No. 1 seeded Massachusetts (1-0).

ALL-AMERICAN BUZZ
• Freshman defender Jack Pearson was named to the College Soccer News 2008 All-Freshman squad as a Third Team selection. He was also named an A-10 All-Rookie pick.
• Junior Alex Torda was named to two very prestigious all-American teams for his academic success. He was a Second Team selection to both the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Men's Soccer Teams and the NSCAA Men’s College Scholar All-American Team.

BREAKING DOWN THE RANKINGS
• After defeating Rhode Island, Temple and Massachusetts for the A-10 championship, Dayton ended the regular season ranked first in the NSCAA Regional Poll.
• The Flyers were ranked as high as 22nd in the NSCAA Top 25 National Poll on Oct. 28.
• Dayton was ranked No. 19 in the season ending poll by College Soccer News.

A STREAK THAT COULDN’T BE BEAT
• During the season, Dayton rode a hot 10-game unbeaten streak to break a school record, and six of the games were conference matchups. The Flyers opened A-10 play with a 5-0-1 mark.

ONE SHINING MOMENT
• The moment that showed the amount of heart and perseverance the Flyers had was during the Atlantic 10 tournament when they defeated three different teams in four days to take home the A-10 Tournament Championship. Senior Florian DeCamps, an A-10 First Team selection, was named the Championship Most Outstanding Player and joined teammates Ryan Handbury, Isaac Kissi and Ben Murray on the All-Championship Team.
• The win over UMass in the championship game gave Dayton 15 victories on the season, breaking the program record of 14 wins set in 2000.
• The Flyers’ 15-4-3 record placed them ninth in the NCAA in win-loss percentage (.750).

BIGGEST SURPRISE
• Redshirt freshman Tyler Picard had a stellar rookie season in goal for the Flyers. He posted two shutouts in his first full week of action, after missing the start of the season due to injuries. He was twice named the A-10 Rookie of the Week. His seven shutouts were tied for fourth in the A-10. He owned a 0.97 goals against average and finished with a 13-2-2 record.

FUN FACTS
• The Flyers tied a UD single-season record for goals scored (46) in the 1-0 win against the Minutemen in the Atlantic 10 Championship (Nov. 16). The record was set in 1975 when the Flyers scored 46 goals in 14 games. Dayton outscored its opponents 2 to 1 this season, 46-23.
• Dayton is 20-0-1 when scoring three or more goals during Currier’s tenure, including 9-0-1 in 10 games this season.
• The Flyers finished the regular season 9-0-0 at Baujan Field this year and have a 20-game unbeaten streak (17-0-3) at home dating back to Oct. 28, 2006.

OFFENSIVE MATTERS
• The Flyers scored three or more goals in 10 games this season, including a season-high seven goals in a 7-1 rout of Saint Joseph’s.
• UD finished ninth in the nation in scoring offense with 2.09 scored per game.
• The Flyers led the Atlantic 10 in points (139), goals (46) and assists (47).

NOW FOR DEFENSIVE MATTERS
• The Flyer defensive rotation of juniors Randy Dennis, Ryan Handbury and Sonny Renner, sophomore Tommy Watkins and freshman Jack Pearson helped UD post eight shutouts this season.
• At one point the Flyers didn't allow a goal in more than 370 minutes of action.
• In 16 of their 22 games this season the UD defense allowed its opponents just one goal or less.

2009 FORECAST
All of the Flyer lockdown defense will be returning next season, including Picard in net. Leading scorer Torda will be back, along with Zach Weiss and Tommy Watkins, two of the four Flyers who dished out a team-high five assists in 2008.