April 17, 2009

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton men's soccer Flyers played a professional squad, a BIG EAST team, and a Big 10 team in their last three outings. The reigning Atlantic 10 Champions have performed well in their spring season and are 1-1-2 heading into the final weekend of action.

Dayton opened the spring portion of its schedule with a 1-0 win over Michigan, a team that advanced to the 2008 NCAA Sweet 16.

The Flyers' only loss so far this spring season came against the Cleveland City Stars, the 2008 USL Division II Champions. The City Stars came away with a 2-0 victory at Athletes in Action Field in Xenia, Ohio on April 4.

"It was a great experience for our team to play the 2008 USL Div. II Champions. I felt we outplayed them quite a bit the first half and had several chances to go up in the game," said UD Head Coach Dennis Currier. "In the second half, their experience took over and we found ourselves under a lot more pressure. We still found some chances but could not convert."

The Flyers then hosted Cincinnati, Ohio State and Western Michigan at the Dayton Spring Mini-Tournament on Saturday, April 11 at Baujan Field.

Dayton opened the tournament with a 0-0 draw against Cincinnati. The next two games saw Ohio State defeat Western Michigan 2-0 and the Bearcats handle the Broncos, 3-0.

Then UD and Ohio State squared off in the final match of the tournament which resulted in a 2-2 tie. Freshman Jack Pearson and junior Alex Torda notched the Flyers' goals.

"It was a great weekend for soccer as the weather was excellent. Our team was coming off of spring break so we were not as sharp as we wanted to be," said Currier. "In the first game, we did not generate enough scoring opportunities but we played well defensively. The Ohio State game was a strong, physical battle and we did a great job coming back from a 0-2 deficit to draw the game 2-2."

The Flyers close out the spring with two games this Saturday, April 18 at the University of Kentucky. Dayton plays Memphis at 11 a.m. ET and then takes on Evansville at 2 p.m. ET in Lexington, Ky.

"We look forward to our last competition this weekend against Evansville and Memphis," said Currier.

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.