DAYTON - The University of Dayton men's soccer team will open up the 2017 regular season this weekend. The Flyers will host East Tennessee State Friday, Aug. 25 at 6 p.m. at Baujan Field in the home opener. Then Dayton heads to Fort Wayne Sunday to take on the Mastodons at 4 p.m. at the Hefner Soccer Complex.

Head coach Dennis Currier is in his 13th season at the helm of the Flyers, totaling 121 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 averaged 1.15 goals per game in 2016 while holding opponents to 1.10 goals. Dayton matched its opponent with a .088 shot percentage, but posted a .392 shots-on-goal percentage. UD was 5-2-1 at home last year as well.

UD is led by sophomore Rok Taneski, who returns after scoring four goals and leading the team with six assists as a true freshman. Senior Alvaro Navarro scored four goals in his first season with the Flyers while redshirt junior Nick Hagenkord added three goals and two assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Federico Barrios posted a 6-4-3 record in 14 games last year, recording a 0.74 goals against average and 44 saves.

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.
• The first 500 fans will get a set of Thundersticks! We encourage all fans to use these throughout the season to support the Flyers!

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
EAST TENNESSE STATE
ETSU was picked as the overwhelming favorites to win the SoCon title going into the season and had five players named to the All-Conference preseason teams. The Bucs looks to defend their 2016 championship after going 12-5-3 overall and 7-1-2 in conference play last year. Head coach Bo Oshoniyi returns for his third season in charge and looks to guide ETSU back into the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.

As a team in 2016, the Bucs averaged 1.65 goals per game and allowed just 1.00 goal to opposing teams. ETSU had a .131 shot percentage and .409 shots-on-goal percentage.

ETSU is led by senior Fletcher Ekern, who led the Bucs last season with nine goals, including three game-winners, in 20 starts. Senior Cameron Woodfin tied for the the most assists in the nation with 12, despite making just two starts. Reigning SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year, Jonny Sutherland allowed just 19 goals, posted a 0.92 goals against average, and recorded nine shutouts.

FORT WAYNE
Fort Wayne will face Dayton's neighbor Wright State Friday in Dayton before hosting the Flyers on Sunday. The Mastodons are coming off a 2016 season in which they went 9-9 overall and 2-4 in the Summit League.  Head coach Mike Harper is in his 12th season leading Fort Wayne.

The Mastodons had a successful preseason with wins over Indiana Tech (4-2) and Valparaiso (3-1). Fort Wayne averaged 1.83 goals per game last season, but gave up 2.00 to opponents. Through two preseason games, the Mastodons already scored 21 percent of their total of 33 goals from last season.

Redshirt senior Oscar Uyamadu is the main returning offensive threat with seven goals and three assists in 2016. Junior Zach Tom chipped in five goals and two assists as well. The Mastodons look to redshirt senior Andy O'Donoghue as the only goalkeeper with playing time between the posts after appearing in one game last season.

THE SERIES
Dayton and  ETSU are meeting for the first time in program history.

The Flyers and Mastodons have faced each other four times previously with Dayton winning all four contests. The last meeting came Oct. 11, 2016 when the Flyers defeated the Mastodons at home, 5-0.

LAST OUTING
Dayton finished up the preason with a hard-fought 5-3 loss at Milwaukee on Saturday. The Flyers scored all three of their goals after the 72nd minute thanks to freshmen Trey Marchino, Thor Helgason, and senior Aidan Bean.
ETSU wrapped-up its exhibition slate with a 1-0 win at UNC-Asheville thanks to a goal by Jordan Broadwater on a scrum inside the 18-yard box in the 71st minute.

Fort Wayne finished the preseason undefeated with a 3-1 win at home against Valparaiso Aug. 18. Goals by Will Hunt, Romain Lopez, and Matthew Lieshout sealed the victory for the Mastodons.

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.

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 478-406-84 and four NCAA Tournament appearances in its history. The Flyers are also 123-83-26 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.

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 303-118-46 in 23 seasons and a 115-69-34 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.

HAUPT RETURNS FOR SENIOR SEASON
Dayton senior James Haupt returns for his final season with the Flyers after sitting out all of the 2016 season due to injury. In his last season in 2015, the forward scored seven goals and recorded seven assists as the Flyers led the nation in scoring. He brings a veteran presence on and off the field to the program.

UP NEXT
The Flyers will return home Friday, Sept. 1 to host Western Illinois at 5:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Dayton women's team. UD then heads back on the road to take on Belmont in Nashville, Tenn.  at 2 p.m.