Oct. 10, 2007

Complete Release in PDF Format

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton women's soccer returns to action this weekend hitting the road for two Atlantic 10 match-ups. The Flyers will face Duquesne Friday, Oct. 12 (7:30 p.m. ET) and St. Bonaventure Sunday, Oct. 14 (2:30 p.m. ET) in games that can be followed with Gametracker on www.DaytonFlyers.com. The Flyers, who are on a three-game unbeaten streak, are looking to pick up more conference wins this weekend as the team is 10-3-0 overall and 4-1-0 in the A-10.

Senior goalkeeper Niki Reed, who was named A-10 Player of the Week on Monday and named to the Soccer America Team on Tuesday, also made the Soccer Buzz Team of the Week on Wednesday. Reed, who recorded her seventh shutout of the season last weekend to move to third place on UD's all-time shutout list with 13, was among 18 student-athletes selected for the honor and will look to keep up the momentum heading into this weekend.

FLYERS PICK UP TWO MORE CONFERENCE WINS AT HOME
The Flyers picked up win No. 9 on Friday in a 2-0 decision over A-10 rival UMass. UD controlled play throughout the game holding a 32-9 advantage in shots and a 13-4 edge in corner kicks. Mandi Bäck and senior Jen Leslie collected a goal each for Dayton as senior goalie Niki Reed recorded six saves for her sixth shutout of the year.

UD kept up the momentum on Sunday as the team picked up its fourth A-10 win of the season over Rhode Island. Reed tallied her seventh shutout of the year. Bäck and Alli Foust both scored goals as the Flyers improved to 6-1-0 at Baujan Field.

SCOUTING THE DUKES
The Dukes (6-4, 3-1) are coming off a 2-0 weekend as the team picked up wins against George Washington and Richmond for their third-straight A-10 win of the season. The team is led by Audra Mathews (4 goals, 4 assists) and Samantha Kaiser (4 goals, 2 GW's). Mathews' goal in Sunday's game against Richmond gave her 20 career which ties her for most all-time in Duquesne program history. They are under the direction of Tim Zundel (Tiffin '00) who is in his first year as head coach of the Dukes. Zundel served as assistant coach of the program from 2003-'06.

Dayton leads the all-time series 10-1-0.

SCOUTING THE BONNIES
St. Bonaventure (3-8-1, 0-4-0) is on a six-game losing streak and have yet to pick up an A-10 win this season. The team went 0-2 last weekend with losses to Richmond (4-0) and George Washington (2-0). They are led by Marilyn Wargo with four goals and Courtney Bosse who has tallied three goals and two assists so far this season. The Bonnies are coached by Manoj Khettry who is in his second season with SBU. Khettry is a former Flyer assistant. He served as assistant coach for Dayton for three seasons (2003-'05).

Dayton leads the all-time series 9-3-0.

"REED"ICULOUS
Goalkeeper Niki Reed is off to a strong year. The senior has seven shutouts in 13 games, which leads the Atlantic 10. Her 13 career shutouts put her in third place on the all-time shutout list at UD. Despite giving up four goals to Cincinnati (the most she's given up to any team in her career), Reed still has a .78 goals against average and a save percentage of .821. She has been named A-10 Player of the Week twice this season. In addition, the senior Flyer made the Soccer America Team of the Week and Soccer Buzz Team of the Week for the week of 10/8. It is the second time this season she's been named to the Soccer Buzz team also earning the honor on 9/6.

Dayton is currently ranked 34th nationally in shutout percentage (.538) among NCAA Division I programs.

BÄCK OF THE NET
Sophomore Mandi Bäck has picked up where she left off last season. The midfielder leads the team in shots (55), goals (10), and points (21). She was tabbed Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Monday Sept. 17 and named to the Soccer America Team of the Week on Tuesday Sept. 18 after her two goal and one assist performance at the Gopher Invitational. Mandi scored her second career hat-trick on 9/30 against George Washington. She is currently 15th in the nation in goals per game with a .769 average. If that weren't enough, Bäck is also the Conference leader in shots (29), points (24), and goals (2).

SHARING THE WEALTH
Thirteen different players have scored at least a goal for the Flyers this season. Nine different players have scored at least two goals. Twelve of the Flyers 20 assists have been from different players. By class, goals have been scored by a freshman, a sophomore, a junior, and a senior.

NOT SHOTS, NO GLORY
A little over halfway through the season, the Flyers 31 goals have already topped last year's goal total (29). The team's 253 shots are just five shy of the 2006 total of 258. The UD women are ranked 23rd in the nation in goals per game with an average of 2.38. The Flyers lead the Atlantic 10 Conference in all offensive statistic categories except for assists and assists per game.

IN THE RANKINGS
Regionally speaking, Dayton improved to seventh in the Great Lakes region by NSCAA while jumping one spot in the Soccer Buzz regional poll to eighth.

"D" IS THE KEY
The UD defense has been stifling this year. The backline has posted seven shutouts and is giving up under a goal per game.

SCHEDULE STRENGTH
The Flyers' 2007 slate features four teams that advanced to last year's NCAA Tournament (Saint Louis, Michigan, Loyola Marymount, and Oakland).

FORECAST
In a preaseason forecast, Atlantic 10 coaches predicted how the final standings of the 2007 women's soccer season will turn out. The Flyer women have been selected to finish second behind defending A-10 champion Saint Louis.

HOME COOKIN'
Baujan Field, which the Flyers have called home since 1984, has been quite an imposing place for visiting teams. UD has played 204 matches there all-time, compiling an impressive 146-46-12 (.745) record in that period. Dayton has never lost more than five times in one season (5-5-0 in 1996) and has been perfect at home three times (6-0-0 in 2001 and 8-0-0 in 1987 and 8-0-0 in 2004). UD won three times at home last season (3-3-1). This season the Flyers are 6-1-0 at home already.

ONE-GOAL WONDERS
Since 2003, (90 matches), more than half (56) have been decided by one goal or less. The Flyers are 33-18-8 in those close-calls, despite going 4-5-3 last season. UD had won 12-straight (including both in the A-10 Championship) in 2004, before the 2-1 loss in overtime to Wisconsin in the NCAA First Round. Last season 12 of UD's 18 matches were decided by a goal or less.

A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
All time, UD is 24-13-15 in overtime matches, but an impressive 18-6-11 under Tucker. The loss to Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament First Round three years ago was UD's first overtime defeat since the 1999 season. This season, the Flyers are 3-0 in overtime matches.

FOR HOME GAME TICKET INFORMATION
Contact the UD Ticket Office at 937-229-4433. Soccer prices are $5 (adults), $3 (children), and group rates are available. UD students are admitted free with ID.

LOOKING AHEAD
Following this weekend's matches, the Flyers will return to Dayton to close out the home portion of the season against Saint Louis (Friday, October 19) and Charlotte (Sunday, October 21).