DAYTON - The University of Dayton men's soccer team will play its first home conference game of the season as the Flyers host Saint Joseph's Wednesday, oct. 4 at 7 p.m. at Baujan Field. Dayton enters the game with a 4-5-2 record overall and a 1-0-0 A-10 mark.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Head coach Dennis Currier is in his 13th season at the helm of the Flyers, totaling 125 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 are averaging 1.45 goals per game and holding opponents to 1.09 goals each contest. Dayton is out-shooting opposing teams 165 to 113, but overcomes a corner kick disadvantage.

UD is led by freshman Thor Helgason leads the Flyers with five goals and 11 points while senior Alvaro Navarro and sophomore Rok Taneski have chipped in two goals and four assists each. Sophomore goalkeeper Federico Barrios has played every minute in goal with 39 saves and one shutout.

PROMOTIONS
•T-shirts and miniballs will be thrown out every time the Flyers score.
• Arby's sub giveaway every time UD has a substitution.
• Posters and schedule cards will be available at the marketing table.
• Thundersticks will be available for the first 50 students!
• It is a Red Out! Be sure to rock the red! The first 100 fans will receive a FREE Dayton Flyers Men Soccer red noise maker!

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
SAINT JOSEPH'S
Saint Joseph's heads into its first Atlantic 10 game with a 2-5-3 record on the season and a 0-4-1 away record. Head coach Don D'Ambra is in his eighth season in charge of Saint Joes.

The Hawks are scoring 0.80 goals each game and giving up 1.40 to opponents. SJU is being out-shot, has fewer corner kicks, and just three assists this season.

Matt Crawford is the only Hawk with more than one goal, scoring five this season. Goalkeeper Greg O'Connell has made nine starts with 49 saves while Trevor Nicol has two games played with four saves and a 1.09 goals against average.

THE SERIES
Dayton and Saint Joseph's have met 17 times prior with the Flyers winning 14 contests, losing once, and tying twice. The last meeting took place on Oct. 28, 2015 in Dayton where the Flyers defeated the Hawks 7-1. Senior James Haupt and redshirt junior Nick Hagenkord were both on the scoresheet for UD.

LAST OUTING
Dayton opened up Atlantic 10 play with a 2-1 on the road at Davidson Saturday. Helgason scored in the 72nd minute to help the Flyers start off the conference slate with a victory.

Saint Joseph's drew with Central Connecticut State at home saturday, 1-1. Derek Mackinnon tied it up with just a minute and a half left in regulation to help earn a point for the Hawks.

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.

WHAT A 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.

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 483-410-86 and four NCAA Tournament appearances in its history. The Flyers are also 124-83-26 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.

UP NEXT
The Flyers will head back out on the road to take on George Washington Saturday at 2 p.m. in D.C.