Nov. 3, 2004

AMHERST, MA - After sweeping through the regular season, the No. 20 University of Dayton women's soccer team nearly swept the Atlantic 10 Conference postseason awards. Junior Reba Sedlacek (Hamilton, OH) was named the Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year honors went to senior Jen Simonetti (Copley, OH), while head coach Mike Tucker garnered the Coach of the Year award in voting by the conference's head coaches. The Flyers (18-1-0), the A-10 regular season champion for a record eighth time, will begin the quest for their fifth tournament title, an NCAA automatic bid, and a school record for wins Friday in the semifinals at 11:00 a.m. in Amherst, MA.

In addition to the Player of the Year awards, UD also saw five players tabbed First Team All-Atlantic 10. Sedlacek and Simonetti were joined on the First Team by senior MF Tesia Kozlowski (Westerville, OH), senior GK Stacy DeLuca (Maryville, IL) and junior MF Katie Lowstuter (Cincinnati, OH). Freshman D Courtney Sirmans (Centerville, OH) and freshman F Natalia Walters (South Barrington, IL) were voted to the All-Rookie Team, while Sedlacek and DeLuca were named to the All-Academic Team.

Sedlacek finished as the Flyers' leading scorer for the second straight year with 13 goals and six assist for 32 points. The junior was UD's go-to player all season and it paid off as she posted a conference-leading five game-winning goals. All the statistics were career highs for the 5-foot-10 Sedlacek, who collected game-winning goals against Cincinnati, LSU, Xavier, Duquesne and Fordham. A second-team all-league player last season, Sedlacek now has 26 goals and 16 assists, including eight game-winners, in her three-year career.

For Dayton, Sedlacek is the first player to be honored with league's top offensive award since 2000 when former player Missy Gregg was selected. Sedlacek was also selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team for the second consecutive season. The junior is a Communication Management major.

Simonetti becomes the third UD player in as many seasons to earn the Defensive Player of the Year award. The unquestioned leader of one of the nation's most talented defensive lines, Simonetti is a tough, physical player and great in the air. Simonetti, who was on the A-10 First Team as a sophomore and a Preseason All-Conference pick this season, will graduate as one of the best offensive defenders in team history. She is second on the team with eight assists this season, but for her career, the junior has collected seven goals and 12 assists. More importantly, her play in the defensive central midfielder, has helped UD hold the opposition to nine goals in 19 matches this season.

Sweeper Erin Showalter, who graduated last season, and goalkeeper Stephanie Weisenfeld, who graduated in 2001, are the other two Flyers to earn the honor.

This is the second A-10 Coach of the Year honor for Tucker, who took the reigns in 1995 - UD's first year in the conference. Tucker, 55, has guided the Flyers to their second perfect conference slate, but more importantly to an 18-1-0 overall record, which includes the nation's longest winning streak at 18 matches and a top-25 rank. This season saw Tucker both win his 150th career match and coach his 200th. His career winning percentage currently ranks in the top 15 among active NCAA Divisions I coaches.

The 2001 A-10 Rookie of the Year, Kozlowski becomes the first Flyer in history to receive three consecutive mentions on the A-10 First Team. Kozlowski totaled three goals and four assists this season and became just the fourth UD player in history to score 20 career goals and record 20 career assists. With 27 career assists, she is just one shy of Dayton's career record of 28 held by both Jen Davin (1996-99) and Cara Arledge (1985-88).

DeLuca capped off her career with one of the most dominating single-season performances in Atlantic 10 history. The fifth-year senior currently owns a sparkling 0.50 goals against average and 15-1-0 record in nearly 1500 minutes of action this season. DeLuca, whose eight shutouts is the second-best single-season total in school history, allowed just seven goals in the field of play (one PK goal) during the regular season. She led the A-10 in GAA and was among the national leaders all season. DeLuca has a shot at the A-10's single-season GAA record of 0.48 held by former Massachusetts and UD National goalkeeper Brianna Scurry.

Lowstuter was an assist-machine for UD this season. The crafty junior paced the conference and was among the national leaders with a career-best 11 assists this season. The junior, who plays a combination forward/midfielder role, earned her first conference honors by finishing second on the team in scoring with 19 points (four goals, 11 assists). Of her 11 assists, seven helped set-up game-winning goals. She scored a game-winning goal herself in the 1-0 double overtime defeat of Saint Joseph's.

The Flyers will have a first-round bye in the A-10 Championship, which begins Thursday at the University of Massachusetts' Rudd Field. UD will play a semifinal match Friday at 11:00 a.m. ET. Sunday's final is set for 1:00 p.m.