DAYTON, Ohio - When the University of Dayton women's soccer team faces off against Rhode Island Friday at Baujan Field the two teams will be playing for much more than a berth in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Championship. UD is holding its Think Pink match to help raise awareness and research funding for breast cancer. The Flyers' are in the home stretch and are trying to keep their unbeaten record intact with just four games left in the regular season. They host the Rhode Island Rams this Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET. and then face the Massachusetts Minutewomen this Sunday at Baujan Field at 1:00 p.m. ET.
THINK PINK
The University of Dayton women's soccer team will be wearing pink warm-up jerseys for their Breast Cancer Awareness game against Rhode Island Friday, Oct. 23. The Flyer starting line-up will throw pink shirts to the "Red Scare". In addition, donations can be made at the entrances of Baujan Field, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to breast cancer research. There will also be a silent auction for three pink Nike Dayton jerseys signed by the entire UD women's soccer team. The auction begins at the Rhode Island game, will continue at the UMass game Sunday and fans can bid online from Monday, Oct. 26-Friday, Oct. 30. Final bids will be accepted at the Xavier game Saturday, Oct. 31. Winners of the three jerseys will be announced at halftime. All proceeds go to breast cancer research.
SERIES INFORMATION
• The Dayton Flyers lead the all-time series against the Rhode Island Rams 10-3-0. The Flyers have won the last two games including a 2-1 thrilling victory for the Flyers last year on Oct. 10. The Flyers were outshot 20-14 but they battled their way through for the win. Junior Kelly Blumenschein scored in the match for Dayton.
• The Flyers have the edge over the Massachusetts Minutewomen in the all-time series 10-4-0. The last time they met the Flyers dropped in a 1-0 decision to the UMass Minutewomen even after outshooting UMass 19-7.
FLYING STREAK
• Dayton's 15-game unbeaten streak is the best start to a season in team history since 1997 when UD went on an 8-0 run to start the campaign. The Flyers finished 16-4-0 that year with an 8-3-0 record in the A-10.
• The University of Dayton's women soccer squad currently has the longest unbeaten streak in the A-10 and is the only team remaining in the Conference that has not suffered a loss this season.
• Out of 322 Division I teams, the Flyers are one of two that are yet to be beaten. The only other team is Stanford (15-0-0). South Carolina recently dropped out of the streak by losing to Georgia 2-1 on Oct. 16 (research provided by College Soccer 360).
A-10 TEAM LEADERS
Dayton leads the A-10 in shots (352), goals allowed (5), goals against average (0.33), corner kicks (121) and home attendance (834 fans per game). The Flyers are third in points (88) and second in goals (30), goals per game (2.00), assists per game (1.87), and shutouts (10).
UD WOMEN'S SOCCER RANKED
• Dayton is currently ranked No. 2 in the Mid-Atlantic Region by the NSCAA. The Flyers held the top spot in this poll for two consecutive weeks to start the season. They are also receiving eight votes in the NSCAA National Poll.
• UD is No. 23 on the Top Drawer Tournament 64 Rankings. They are also ranked No. 36 in the College Soccer 360 Poll, No. 41 in the 2009 NCAA Women's soccer RPI Ranking, and No. 27 in the Soccer Times Top 25 Poll.
• The Flyers are second in the Atlantic 10 with a 6-0-1 record. They are one of two teams unbeaten in conference so far; Charlotte is the other.
TERRIFIC TUCKER
Head Coach Mike Tucker's Flyer squads are 115-22-8 in A-10 play. He is the only active coach in the A-10 to achieve more than 100 women's soccer A-10 wins. The Flyers earned a league record 13th consecutive trip to the Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Championship and dealt Fordham a 2-1 loss in the semifinals to give Tucker his 200th career victory. He went on to be named the Ohio Coach of the Year. UD has won seven of the 14 conference regular season titles. In addition, his teams have won the A-10 Tournament Championship five times (1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004).
UP NEXT
The Flyers will travel back to Olean, N.Y. to make up a snowed out game against St. Bonaventure this Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 3 p.m.
SHUTDOWN DAYTON D
• The Flyers have shut out 10 of their 15 opponents this season and challengers have just scored five goals, which tops the A-10 (Saint Louis and Charlotte are the next closest having allowed 12 goals). The UD record for shutouts is 13 set in 2004 by the squad that allowed just 12 goals all season.
• Dayton is ranked second in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer National Ranking Summary in Goals against Average (0.309) and is eighth in Shutout Percentage (.667).
• UD has outscored opponents 30-5 with the help of a hand full of 4-0 victories, including; over previously undefeated Middle Tennessee State (Aug. 30), over Ball State (Sept. 11), over Temple (Sept. 25), and most recently over George Washington (Sept. 27).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
RHODE ISLAND
• The University of Rhode Island women's soccer team is 4-8-2 overall with an A-10 Conference record of 3-4. The Rams are on a three-game losing streak including games lost against Conference opponents La Salle and Massachusetts.
• Freshman forward Ashley Evangelista was named the Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Rookie of the Week on Oct. 12. During that week she scored two goals and two assists to lead the Rams to a 1-1 record.
• Ashley Evangelista and Alexis Veith lead the team in scoring with seven points. Veith has three goals and an assist and Evangelista has two goals and three assists.
• Goalkeeper Tara Murphy is third in the A-10 averaging 5.22 saves per game. Murphy has a .770 save percentage and leads the team with a record of 3-4-0 and 1.84 goals allowed per game.
UMASS
• The Minutewomen broke a four-game losing streak by beating Rhode Island 3-2. The four-game losing streak included four straight loSses to A-10 opponents: Saint Louis, Charlotte, Fordham, and La Salle.
• Senior forward Cristina Adams was named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week on Oct. 19. Against Rhode Island Adams scored two goals to lead Massachusetts to a 3-2 victory.
• Massachusetts is second to last in goals scored (12) in the A-10 and averages less than a goal per game (.86).
• Goalkeeper Emily Cota is tops in the A-10 in saves with 66. She is also 10th in save percentage (.776).
• Sydney Stoll leads Massachussetts with 36 shots or 2.57 shots per game.
A-10 INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
• Four Flyers are in the Top 10 for shots and shots per game in the Atlantic 10: senior Mandi Bäck leads the league in both categories with 68 shots (4.53 per game); junior Jerica DeWolfe is fourth in shots (45) and third in shots per game (3.00); senior Lauren MacCormick is seventh in shots (42) and sixth in shots per game (2.80); Junior Kelly Blumenschein is tied 10th in shots (36).
• Colleen Williams is seventh in the A-10 and is leading the Flyers with six assists. Williams is also third on the team in total points with 14 adding four goals.
• Jerica DeWolfe was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Aug. 31. The junior forward amassed three goals in two contests to help Dayton remain undefeated. DeWolfe is fourth on the team scoring four goals and notching an assist.
• Three Flyers are in the Top 10 in points: Lauren MacCormick is sixth (17pts, 6 g, 5 a), Mandi Bäck is tied eighth (15pts, 5g, 5a), and Colleen Williams is 10th (14pts, 4g, 6a).
A-10 PRESEASON PICKS
UD led the way with five selections on the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference and All-Rookie Teams. Seniors Mandi Bäck and Colleen Gibson, along with sophomore Kathleen Beljan, were named to the 2009 Preseason All-Conference Team for the Flyers. Freshmen Alexis Garcia and Colleen Williams were selected to the 11-person Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Rookie Team.
FLYER SUCCESS
The Dayton women's soccer program owns an overall record of 343-151-37 (.661 winning percentage) since it became a varsity program in 1984. The Flyers made NCAA Tournament Appearances in 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
