March 24, 2009

DAYTON, Ohio - The Flyer men's soccer squad continued its dominance on its home turf. Freshman defender Jack Pearson scored the lone goal in the University of Dayton's 1-0 shutout of Michigan Sunday at Baujan Field, where UD went 9-0 during the 2008 regular season.

The Flyers controlled the tempo most of the first half, and carried that momentum over to the second stanza, however it became a very physical contest and both teams had chances to score.

Late in the game, Jeff Popella played a fierce pass into Isaac Kissi who made a 40-yard run up field and just missed wide to end the game.

"We had a great day to play soccer at Baujan Field. I felt our squad did a great job in the first half connecting passes and getting forward," said UD Head Coach Dennis Currier. "We lost our rhythm late in the second half but maintained our work ethic throughout. It was a good way to start the spring off since we were able to get the entire squad some minutes."

Michigan finished 13-6-3 in Fall 2008 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.

Pearson, an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie selection, scored four goals during his freshman year, three of them game winners. Just like he did during the regular season, Pearson excelled on set pieces, scoring the lone goal against the Wolverines on a corner kick from junior Zach Weiss.

During the Fall 2008 season the Flyers earned their first-ever NCAA Men's Soccer Championship berth and their first Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship since 1998. Dayton posted a school-best 15 wins, en route to its 15-4-3 overall record which was the ninth best winning percentage in NCAA Division men's soccer in 2008.