DAYTON, Ohio – University of Dayton women’s soccer coach Mike Tucker, the 2009 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, has announced the women’s soccer schedule for the 2010 fall campaign.
The Flyers, the defending A-10 champions, will host nine games at Baujan Field, including a non-conference match-up against Ohio State. UD will play 11 games on the road during the regular season, including two games at the Penn Invitational Tournament and a two-game swing through Colorado in September.
“We are very excited about our chances for success this fall, but this schedule will certainly require us to be at our best throughout the season,” said Tucker.
Following an exhibition match against Louisville on Aug. 10, the Flyers will open the season with a weekend of action at Baujan Field; the official opener will be against Butler on Friday, Aug. 20 and then the Flyers take on Toledo Sunday, Aug. 22.
UD will then go out west for a pair of games against Colorado College (Aug. 27) and Air Force (Aug. 29).
The Flyers will renew their rivalry with Ohio State, hosting the Buckeyes at Baujan Field on Friday, Sept. 3. The two teams have not met since 2003.
Dayton will travel to Auburn Hills, Mich. to take on Oakland (Sept.5), and then to Philadelphia to take on Lehigh and Pennsylvania in the Penn Invitational Tournament (Sept 10 & 12). Dayton hosts Loyola (IL) on Sept. 17 and closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule at Wright State on Sept. 19.
“As always, in scheduling we try to challenge ourselves early in preparation for the A-10 matches. The 2010 schedule provides us with a great mix of in-state rivalry matches and many tough challenges with excellent opponents,” said Tucker. “Traditionally many of these opponents are at the top of their respective leagues, and most have recent NCAA tournament experience. Hopefully our preseason training and exhibition with Louisville will enable us to be ready for this rigorous schedule.”
Dayton opens Atlantic 10 play with four consecutive home games; Fordham (Oct. 1 – UD’s Think Pink match), La Salle (Oct. 3), Rhode Island (Oct. 8) and Massachusetts (Oct. 10). The Flyers close out the season with five road conference games; Temple (Oct. 15), Saint Joseph’s (Oct. 17), Duquesne (Oct. 22), St. Bonaventure (Oct. 24) and Xavier (Oct. 29).
“Our A-10 schedule is very difficult; particularly with our last five matches all being on the road,” said Tucker. “We anticipate the A-10 being a much more balanced league than in past years, so those early matches at Baujan will be critical to our league success.
“It will be great to experience the unbelievable atmosphere and fan support at Baujan to get the A-10 schedule underway,” he added.
Admission is free for all UD soccer matches at Baujan Field.
The A-10 Championship will be held Nov. 4-7 at Rhode Island. The Flyers are defending champions and have their sites on earning a league-record 15th consecutive berth to the tournament.
UD is coming off a 2009 season, posting an impressive 16-1-6 record including an undefeated mark in Atlantic 10 play (10-0-1). UD won the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles and also earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the Second Round.
