DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton men's soccer team will host Oakland University at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19 at Baujan Field in the opening round of the NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament. Tickets are $7 for adults, $3 for students, and $1 for children.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
The 2015 Atlantic 10 Champion Dayton Flyers are 13-5-3 on the season and winners of three in a row. UD is also 6-2 at home this season under the direction of head coach Dennis Currier, who recently got career win No. 300.

The Flyers boast one of the most prolific attacks in the nation, leading the country in total goals with 55 and scoring offense with 2.62 goals per game. Dayton is only allowing 1.19 goals to opposing squads while out-shooting them (17.7-11.0) and picking up a corner kick advantage (6.61-5.33).

2015 A-10 Offensive Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year Amass Amankona leads the Flyers with 13 goals, five assists, 31 points, and a .582 shots-on-goal percentage. Fellow senior and first team All-Conference honoree Maik Schoonderwoerd has added 10 goals and six assists while another first team performer James Haupt has contributed seven goals and six assists. Sophomore Oliver Hansen and junior Justin Saliba have split time in goal for UD, combining for a 1.15 goals against average and 57 saves.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
OAKLAND
The Grizzlies enter the tournament off their Horizon League title. Oakland is 10-8-1 on the season and 5-3-1 away from home in 2015. After back-to-back losses in late October, the Grizzlies of rattled off four straight wins. Head coach Eric Pogue is in his seventh season at the helm.

Oakland is averaging 1.32 goals per game and holding opposing teams to 1.16 goals each contest. The Grizzlies are out-shooting their opponents 12.4-10.9 and have advantages in corner kicks, shots-on-goal percentage, and total shots.

Leading the way for Oakland is sophomore Austin Ricci, who has a team-high seven goals to go with two assists, 16 points, and 54 shots. Senior Matt Dudley has chipped in five goals with his team-leading four assists while senior Gerald Ben has scored five as well. Senior goalkeeper Eliott Tarney has 39 saves, seven shutouts, and nine wins in 14 starts.

THE SERIES
The Flyers and Grizzlies have met 16 times prior, including a 2-0 win by Oakland at Dayton earlier this season. UD has won three contests while Oakland has won nine.

LAST OUTING
Dayton got revenge over its 3-2 loss to VCU in the season finale which prevented the Flyers from getting a regular season A-10 title. Instead, they picked up a 4-1 win over VCU in the conference tournament, winning the championship game over the Rams. Seniors Kissima Bojang, Alex Amankwaah, Carlos Sendin, and Schoonderwoerd got on the scoresheet for UD.

Oakland won the Horizon League Tournament Championship with a 1-0 victory over nearby Dayton's neighbor Wright State on Sunday. The Grizzlies got the game-winning goal from Matt Dudley in the 66th minute to seal the title.

A10 CHAMPIONS
Dayton won its second A-10 tournament title in school history with a 4-1 win over VCU in the conference title game on Nov. 15. The Flyers are making their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

CURRIER GETS NO. 300
Dayton's Dennis Currier got his 300th career win as a head coach with a win over Rhode Island on Nov. 13. In 23 seasons and at three different schools, Coach Currier has logged 461 games as a head coach, posting a .700 winning percentage.

INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
This season, Dayton has scored 55 total goals this season, which is the most in a single season in school history. The Flyer had 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.

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 (55), scoring offense (2.62), points per game (7.48), total assists (47), and total points (140). The Flyers are also second in assists per game (2.24) and shots per game (17.71).

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Dayton out-scored opponents 28-5 over its past six home games, including a 7-1 win over Saint Joseph's in A-10 play. The Flyers are 6-2 in games at home as well, outscoring opponents 32-8.

LEADING THE WAY
The Flyers are having a stellar season offensively, leading the Atlantic 10 in shots (17.71), points (7.48), goals (2.62), assists (2.24), and corner kicks (6.62). Dayton is also second in goals against average (1.15).

FLYER SUCCESS
The Dayton men's program has an overall record of 470-397-79 and three NCAA tournament appearances in its history. The Flyers are also 130-80-24 in the Atlantic 10 Conference and have seven conference titles between the regular season and league tournament, including the 2015 A-10 Tournament Championship.


INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
The Dayton program has been known to recruit well outside of the U.S. and this year's team is no different. The Flyers have three student-athletes from Ghana, one from Costa Rica, one from Denmark, one from Spain, one from Nigeria, one from Gambia, and one from the Netherlands, totaling nine international players. This is coming off the 2014 and 2013 seasons in which the Flyers had nine and 11 international players respectively.

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 301-116-44 in 22 seasons and a 113-67-32 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 head just up the road to take on Ohio State in Columbus on Sunday, Nov. 22 in the second round.

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