DAYTON - The University of Dayton men's soccer team will play its first home games of the season this weekend as the Flyers host the Dayton Tournament Friday through Monday. Ohio State and Marshall play at 5 p.m. Friday before Dayton hosts Milwaukee at 7:30 p.m. The Buckeyes then face the Panthers themselves on Sunday at 12 p.m. Dayton and Marshall finish up the competition Monday at 7 p.m.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
The Flyers enter the home portion of the schedule with a 1-0-1 record overall and already a tournament title under their belt in the Wolstein Classic last weekend.

Head coach Dennis Currier is in his 14th season at the helm of the Flyers, totaling 131 victories, the most in UD history. He leads a young squad this season with 15 newcomers and just two seniors.

So far this season, the Flyers are averaging 1.50 goals per game and holding opponents to 1.00 each outing. Dayton has outshot opposing teams 31-20 and boast a .452 shots on goal percentage.

Leading the way for Dayton are Wolstein Classic All-Tournament performers Aidan Bean (two goals), Trey Marchino (GW goal), Isaac Mensah (two starts in defense), and Elias Harryson (two starts in defense). Reigning A-10 Midfielder Rok Taneski will be relied upon this season as well, leading the team with 14 shots.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
MILWAUKEE
Milwaukee heads into the weekend with a 1-0 record overall after opening the season with a 4-0 win over Western Illinois Sunday. Head coach Kris Kelderman is in his seventh season in charge of the Panthers with 53 wins under his belt.

After just one game, Milwaukee has yet to give up a goal and has allowed just three shot attempts. The Panthers boast a .556 shots on goal percentage as well. All four goals came from a different player so far.

The Panthers are led by a veteran senior class made up of five returning seniors, including Sean Holmes (one goal). Sophomore Freddy Lorenzen made the first start in goal and totaled one save in a shutout.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
MARSHALL
Marshall takes on Ohio State Friday before facing Dayton and comes into the tournament with a 1-1 record on the season. The Herd earned a 1-0 victory over A-10's Duquesne to open the campaign, but fell at home to Oakland 3-2 in their last outing. Head coach Chris Grassie is in his second year.

The Thundering Herd have matched their opponents with three goals total for a 1.50 goals per game average. Marshall has doubled its shot attempts of opponents at 13.0 to 6.5 each outing. The Herd have been susceptible to cautions with seven yellow cards in two games.

Returning for Marshall are junior Jonas Westmeyer and sophomore J.P. Rylah, who have already scored this year, joining freshman Gianni Bouzoukis, also on the scoresheet. All three players are internationals as well.  Goalkeeper Paulo Pita has recorded five saves and one shutout on two starts.

THE SERIES
Dayton and Milwaukee have squared off eight times previously with the Flyers winning three meetings and the Panthers winning four. The last meeting came in 2010 as UD came out on top 2-0.

The Flyers and Thundering Herd have played four previous matches with Dayton winning all four contests, including the last showdown in 2008.

LAST OUTING
Dayton opened the 2018 season on the road at the Wolstein Classic in nearby Columbus, where the Flyers won the title. UD started with a 2-2 double overtime draw against Hofstra before defeating Furman Sunday, 1-0, thanks to a first half goal by Trey Marchino.

Milwaukee started off the year with an easy 4-0 win on the road at Western Illinois Sunday. Four different Panthers netted for the visitors after recording just nine total shots. Alex Sykes provided the spark off the bench with a goal and an assist.

Marshall suffered its first loss of the season in its last outing, 3-2 at home against Oakland. The Herd struck first in the 54th minute, but gave up the tying goal just 15 seconds later. Oakland scored the game winner in the 82nd minute despite being outshot by Marshall 12-10.

TANESKI NAMED PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
Junior Rok Taneski was named to the A-10 preseason all-conference team after winning A-10 Midfielder of the Year accolades last season. The midfielder finished the year in the top three in the conference in goals (10), assists (7), and points (27).

PRESEASON
The Flyers worked through a number of different lineups in the preseason, giving multiple newcomers opportunities for playing time. Dayton tied Bowling Green 0-0 in the first exhibition game. The Flyers then hosted Ohio State at Baujan Field, another match that ended 0-0.

DAYTON PICKED TO FINISH 5TH
The Atlantic 10 Conference released its preseason poll and tabbed the Flyers to finish fifth in the league this season. With 117 points and one first-place vote, Dayton trailed preseason favorites Fordham (158), VCU (149), Massachusetts (144), and Rhode Island (124).

FLYER SUCCESS
The Dayton men's program has an overall record of 488-414-87 and four NCAA Tournament appearances in its history. The Flyers are also 129-86-26 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, Finland, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, Slovenia, Sweden, Chile, Germany, and Colombia totaling 12 international players. This is coming off the 2017 season in which the Flyers had 11 international players.

CURRIER'S IMPACT
The head coach of the Flyers has had success at every place he has coached. Dennis Currier is in his 14th year at Dayton and holds a career record of 318-133-52 in 25 seasons and a 131-84-40 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.

UP NEXT
The Flyers will head back out on the road next Saturday to take on Western Illinois at 2 p.m. ET.