DAYTON - The University of Dayton men's soccer team will head into the second week of the season as it hosts Western Illinois Friday at 5:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the women's soccer team at Baujan Field. Dayton finishes up the weekend on Sunday at Belmont in Nashville, Tenn. with a 2 p.m. contest.

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 are averaging 1.00 goals per game while giving up 1.50 goals to opponents. UD has a .476 shots-on-goal percentage with 21 total attempts.

UD is led by a number of young players with sophomore Rok Taneski recording both assists this season while freshman Thor Helgason and Trey Marchino have provided the goals. Sophomore goalkeeper Federico Barrios has played both games between the posts with 13 saves, including a career-high nine against ETSU in the season opener.

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.
• It is Camper Reunion Day! The first 100 campers to come up to the marketing table will receive a free special poster!

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
WESTERN ILLINOIS
Western Illinois is still looking for its first win of the season after starting the year 0-2 with losses at Milwaukee and Green Bay. The Leathernecks are led by the all-time winningest coach in Summit League history, Eric Johnson. He has totaled 165 wins in 20 years at WIU.

As a team, the Leathernecks are scoring 1.50 goals each contest, but have given up 2.50 to opposing squads. They boast a .500 shots-on-goal percentage and average 10 shots per game. WIU has just one corner kick on the season while giving up 11 to opponents.

Western Illinois is led by junior Drew Whalen, senior Fernando Pacheco, and senior Ben Fiddes, who have each scored so far this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Tim Hansen has allowed five goals while recording 11 saves on 28 shots faced.

BELMONT
Belmont enters the weekend with a 1-0-1 record overall and will host Dayton Sunday in its third home game of the season. The Bruins are looking for their first win over the Flyers in program history. Head coach Bryan Green is in his third season at Belmont.

The Bruins are scoring at a rate of 3.00 goals per game, which ranks 14th in the nation, and holding opponents to .50 each contest. Belmont is shooting at a .222 clip while allowing just .040. The Bruins also have a 18-5 corner kick advantage.

Leading the way for Belmont is freshman Matteo Bennati, who has a goal and and an assist this season. All six goals have come from a different Bruin this season. Junior Alex Seeley has two games at goalkeeper without allowing a goal.

THE SERIES
Dayton and Western Illinois have met four times previously with both teams picking up two wins each. The last outing in 2013 resulted in a 2-0 Flyer win at a neutral site in Springfield, Mo.

The Flyers and Bruins have played three previous contests with Dayton winning all three games. They met last season in Dayton as the Flyers clinched a 2-1 double overtime victory. In that game, current UD player Dennis Kluba scored for the Bruins on a penalty kick.

LAST OUTING
Dayton went to Fort Wayne and suffered a 2-1 loss to the Mastodons despite tying the game up early in the second half. Marchino scored the lone goal for the Flyers in the 49th minute, but host Fort Wayne took the lead back in the 80th minute.

Western Illinois fell to Green Bay Sunday on the road, 4-3. The Leathernecks scored first in the 33rd minute before trading goals back and forth with Green Bay. The Phoenix scored the game-winner in the 81st minute to hand WIU the loss.
Belmont dominated Niagara on Sunday, 6-1 at home. The Bruins scored four goals in the first 28 minutes and all six before the 73rd minute as they cruised to their first win of the season. All six goals came from a different player.

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 host the Dayton Tournament on Sept. 8 and 10. Fort Wayne takes on Liberty Friday at 5 p.m. before UD hosts Central Arkansas at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Fort Wayne then faces Central Arkansas at 11 a.m. while Dayton hosts Liberty at 2 p.m. All games will be played at Baujan Field.