DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton men's soccer team will begin the 2015 Atlantic 10 Championship tournament in the quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed when the Flyers face No. 7 seed Duquesne on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 5 p.m. ET in Fairfax, Va.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Dayton ended the regular season with a 10-5-3 record overall and a 5-1-2 A-10 mark. The Flyers are 4-2-3 away from home this year and 0-1 in neutral site games. Head coach Dennis Currier is just two wins shy of career win No. 300 and is in his 11th year at the helm of UD.

The Flyers boast one of the most prolific attacks in the nation, leading the country in total goals with 46 and scoring offense with 2.56 goals per game. Dayton is only allowing 1.22 goals to opposing squads while out-shooting them and picking up a corner kick advantage.

2015 A-10 Offensive Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year Amass Amankona leads the Flyers with 10 goals, five assists, 25 points, and a .568 shots-on-goal percentage. Fellow senior and first team All-Conference honoree Maik Schoonderwoerd has added nine goals and six assists while another first team performer James Haupt has contributed six goals and five assists. Junior goalkeeper Justin Saliba has recorded four shutouts and eight wins to go with 39 saves.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
DUQUESNE
The Dukes finished the regular season in a tie for fifth in the A-10 standings, but earned the seventh seed due to tiebreakers. Duquesne went 6-9-2 during the year with a 4-3-1 A-10 mark. The Dukes boasted conference wins over St. Bonaventure, George Mason, La Salle, and Davidson.

Duquesne is both scoring and allowing 1.29 goals per game despite getting out-shot 13.9-12.2. The Dukes have been strong down the stretch though, winning three of their last four contests.

Leading the Dukes is first team All-Conference honoree senior Colin Phillips, who led the A-10 in scoring with 12 goals along with five assists. Sophomore Frederik Borenstein and junior Bryan Fegley have chipped in two goals each with Borenstein adding three assists.  Senior goalkeeper Sam Frymier has 51 saves and a 0.93 goals against average in 11 starts.

THE SERIES
The Flyers and Dukes met earlier this season in Pittsburgh with Dayton coming from a goal down to take a 2-1 victory over Duquesne on the road. Haupt scored in the 67th minute to even the score before senior Carlos Sendin's game-winning header in the 89th minute.

Overall, Dayton and Duquesne have met  17 times with the Flyers winning 10 of the matches. UD has also won six meetings in a row, dating back to 2007.

LAST OUTING
Dayton suffered its first loss in the last eight games, ending the Flyers unbeaten streak in conference play. UD led 2-0 after goals in the 22nd minute by Schoonderwoerd and 60th minute by Amankona. VCU answered with two goals in the final five minutes of regulation, sending the game to overtime. The Rams then scored the golden goal in the 96th minute.

Duquesne sealed its postseason bid with a 3-1 win at home against Davidson on Saturday. Goals by Fredrik Borenstein and Colin Phillips in the first half put the Dukes in control before Ryan Merrifield's goal in the second half clinched the win.

INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
This season, Dayton has scored 46 total goals this season, which ties the most in a single season in school history. The Flyer have twice before scored 46 goals back in 2008 and 1975.

2015 ALL-CONFERENCE HONOREES
The Atlantic 10 Conference released its season awards prior to the tournament with seven Flyers picking up accolades. Amankona was named Offensive Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year, as well as first team all-conference. Schoonderwoerd and Haupt joined Amankona on the first team offensively with junior Lalas Abubakar being named defensively. Senior midfielder Kissima Bojang was named second team all-conference and freshman Kennedy Nwabia was named to the All-Rookie team.

Academically, Amankona and Haupt joined senior defender Andrew Lightner on the Academic All-Conference team, rounding out the awards for Dayton.

LEADING THE WAY
The Flyers are having a stellar season offensively, leading the Atlantic 10 in shots (17.78), points (7.39), goals (2.56), assists (2.28), and corner kicks (6.78). Dayton is also fifth in goals against average (1.17) and goals allowed (22).

OFFENSIVE POWERHOUSE
The Flyers have been a force on the offensive side of the ball this season, ranking in the top 10 nationally in numerous statistical categories. Dayton currently leads the nation in total goals (46) and scoring offense (2.56). The Flyers are also second in total points (133), points per game (7.39), and shots per game (17.78).

AMANKONA NAMED SENIOR CLASS FINALIST
The 2015 Senior CLASS Award candidates were announced and Dayton's Amass Amankona is one of 10 male finalists for the national honor. The award is given to one male and female in each sport every year that best exhibits excellence in four areas: classroom, character, community, and competition. Amankona is one of two A-10 candidates and joins Dayton women's soccer's Nicole Waters on the list. Dayton is one of only four schools with both a male and female honoree.

CURRIER'S IMPACT
The head coach of the Flyers has had success at every place he has coached. Dennis Currier is in his 11th year at Dayton and holds a career record of 298-116-44 in 22 seasons and a 110-67-32 record with the Flyers. His career winning percentage of .701 ranks fifth in the nation amongst active coaches, ahead of programs like Maryland, Stanford, UCLA, and Virginia.

UP NEXT
If victorious on Thursday, the Flyers will move on to the semifinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m. where they will face the winner of No. 3 Saint Louis/No. 6 Rhode Island.


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