Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I. – The University of Dayton men’s soccer team battled to a nil-nil draw against the Rhode Island Rams in their Atlantic 10 opener at URI Soccer Complex on Friday. The Flyers are now 4-4-2 as junior goalkeeper Tyler Picard picked up his fifth shutout of the season.

“I thought we played well tonight. Tyler [Picard] had a good night for us,” Dayton Head Coach Dennis Currier said. “Our back four was steady. We created a lot of half-chances and had a couple of good chances at the end of the periods.”

Picard made six stops as action was fairly even. Both teams had five corner kicks while each team had six shots on goal. Rhode Island held a slight advantage with 18 total shots to UD’s 15. For Picard, his latest feat has him tied for the shutout lead in the A-10 with Xavier’s Justin Marshall.

“I thought our back four did well. They drew good lines and I thought their defensive clearances were solid. The last line of defense with Picard was fantastic. He came up big on a couple big saves and was steady all game. He has been steady all year along with his fifth shutout of the year,” Currier said.

Senior midfielder Oskar Kretzinger registered two shots on net for the Flyers in the game.  Evan McCreary, Tommy Watkins, Victor Duru and Marlon Duran also had scoring opportunities against the Rams.

“We didn’t do well enough at converting on goals. I thought we got forward well, but it came down to finishing and it wasn’t something we did tonight. We have to reward our defense for playing well by scoring goals. Overall, I thought our boys played well in the first A-10 game on the road. We got a point, but we have to work harder to score goals,” Currier said.

Dayton concludes its road trip against the UMass Minutemen on Sunday, Oct. 10 at noon. Live stats are available via Gametracker on www.DaytonFlyers.com.