DAYTON - The University of Dayton men's soccer team will head out on the road for a mid-week Atlantic 10 contest at Saint Louis Wednesday. Kick-off is at 8 p.m. ET at Hermann Stadium. The Flyers enter the contest with a 6-6-2 record overall and 3-1 conference mark, putting them in fourth in the league standings.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Head coach Dennis Currier is in his13th season at the helm of the Flyers, totaling 127 victories, the most in UD history. He returns a veteran squad this year with seven seniors, two of the top three goal scorers, and both goalkeepers from last season.

The Flyers lead the A-10 in shots and shots on goal per game while ranking second in total goals. Dayton is averaging 1.79 goals each contest while holding opponents to 1.21 goals per game. UD also has a 15.9 to 11.0 shots per game advantage.

UD is led by freshman Thor Helgason, who has seven goals this season, ranking second in the A-10. Senior Alvaro Navarro has chipped in four goals and five assists while sophomore Rok Taneski has four goals and four assists. Freshman Jonas Fjeldberg leads the team and ranks second in the league in assists with six. Sophomore goalkeeper Federico Barrios has 42 saves and a 1.19 goals against average in 13 starts.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
SAINT LOUIS
Saint Louis comes into the week with a 4-6-1 record on the season and a 2-2 A-10 mark. The Billikens have struggled at home, going 1-5-1 on the year. Three time A-10 Coach of the Year and head coach Mike McGinty is in his eighth season in charge.

The Billikens are averaging 1.18 goals each contest and allowing 1.82 goals to opposing teams. Saint Louis does have a better shot on goal percentage though at .438 compared to .408 for opponents.

Leading the way is Lennart Hein's five goals and 10 points. Leo Novaes has two goals and threee assists as well. Sascha Otte has played 11 games with 38 saves and four shutouts.

THE SERIES
Dayton and Saint Louis have played 22 times previously with the Flyers winning four times, the Billikens winning 16 meetings, and two draws. In the last contest, Dayton eliminated top-seeded Saint Louis from the 2016 A-10 Championships with a 2-1 overtime victory in Davidson, N.C.

LAST OUTING
Dayton is coming off its biggest win of the season after defeating St. Bonaventure at home 6-1 Saturday. Navarro (2), Taneski, Helgason, Haupt, and Marchino were on the scoresheet while Fjeldberg had three assists.

Saint Louis won on the road at George Mason Saturday, 3-2. The Billikens opened the scoring in the 57th minute before the Patriots matched the score in the 62nd and again in the 74th minute. SLU got the game-winner from Leo Novaes in the 90th minute.

HELGASON NAMED A-10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
On Sept. 5, the Atlantic 10 Conference named Dayton freshman Thor Helgason the A-10 Rookie of the Week. The Icelandic native led the team to a 4-1 win over Western Illinois and led the team through the first two weeks in scoring in four starts.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Dayton was 5-2-1 at Baujan Field last season, including  2-1-1 in A-10 play. The 2017 Atlantic 10 Championships will be played at Baujan Field this season on Nov. 10-12 in the new format of the postseason. The A-10 Quarterfinals will be played on the campus sites of the Top Four seeded teams before the semifinals and finals will take place the following weekend in Dayton.

PRESEASON
The Flyers worked through a number of different lineups in the preseason, giving multiple newcomers opportunities for playing time. Dayton tied Bowling Green 1-1 in the first exhibition game with the goal coming from an own goal by a BGSU defender. The Flyers then went to Milwaukee and suffered a 5-3 loss to the Panthers. UD trailed 5-0 in the second half before a late surge saw three goals by the Flyers in 14 minutes. Freshmen Thor Helgason and Trey Marchino both scored and assisted in the contest while Taneski assisted one and senior Lance Gaspar assisted twice.

FLYER CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
The Flyers had three players named to the All-Tournament at the Dayton Flyer Classic on Sept. 10. Sophomore goalkeeper Federico Barrios, freshman Thor Helgason, and redshirt junior Nick Hagenkord all received All-Tournament team honors. Liberty won the team title.

SIX ON THE NIGHT
In the win at home against Oakland on Sept. 20, the Flyers scored a season-high six goals in a 6-2 victory. Dayton came out of the locker room at halftime tied 2-2, but scored four goals in the second half to power its way to victory.

The Flyers matched that total with six more goals in a 6-1 win over St. Bonaventure at home on Oct. 14. Fjeldberg had three assists in the game while Navarro had two goals.

DAYTON PICKED TO FINISH 4TH
The Atlantic 10 Conference released its preseason poll and tabbed the Flyers to finish fourth in the league this season. With 122 points, Dayton trailed preseason favorites Fordham (162), Saint Louis (153), and VCU (147). Despite being picked to finish ahead of the likes of Rhode Island, George Washington, and Duquesne, UD didn't have anyone named to the preseason All-Conference squad.

FLYER SUCCESS
The Dayton men's program has an overall record of 484-411-86 and four NCAA Tournament appearances in its history. The Flyers are also 125-84-26 in the Atlantic 10 Conference and have six conference titles between the regular season and league tournament.

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 student-athletes from Ghana, Iceland, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, Slovenia, England, Panama, and Colombia totaling 11 international players. This is coming off the 2016 season in which the Flyers had 10 international players.

FLYERS ADD NEW ASSISTANTS
Dayton men's soccer announced the hiring of Brendon Boucaud to the staff in June 2017 followed by the addition of Alex Ranalli in August 2017.

Boucaud joins the Flyers after a stint coaching at his alma mater, Central Methodist University in Missouri. While there, he helped CMU to a 25-10-3 record in two seasons, guiding the team to national rankings, All-American honors, and the best season in program history. Boucaud played at CMU collegiately before plaing professionally in Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, and the U.S.

Ranalli comes to Dayton from nearby Ohio State University, where he played from 2013-16 and coached in 2017. He received his NSCAA National Diploma after a successful career with the Buckeyes. As a player, he was named to the Academic All-Big Ten team three times and was a member of the 2015 Big Ten Championship team. Prior to OSU, Ranalli played one season at Akron where he was part of the 2012 MAC regular season and conference champions.

CURRIER'S IMPACT
The head coach of the Flyers has had success at every place he has coached. Dennis Currier is in his 12th year at Dayton and holds a career record of 315-131-51 in 24 seasons and a 127-82-39 record with the Flyers. His career winning percentage of .690 ranks eighth in the nation amongst active coaches, ahead of programs like Notre Dame, Louisville, UCLA, Xavier, and Virginia.

ABUBAKAR IN THE PROS
Lalas Abubakar became the latest Flyer to join the professional ranks after being selected No. 5 overall in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft by the Columbus Crew. The former A-10 Defender of the Year has had a strong debut season for the Crew and continues to develop in his rookie campaign. He recently scored his first professional goal against Orlando City and was named to the MLS Team of the Week.

FLYERS EARN USC TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD
The United Soccer Coaches Association released their team academic award winners and named both the men's and women's teams at the University of Dayton to the list. This marks the 12th consecutive season for the men.

UP NEXT
The Flyers will return home to host Massachusetts Saturday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. at Baujan Field.