DAYTON – The University of Dayton women's soccer team will return to action in the Atlantic 10 Championships this weekend, as they will host the remaining three matches of the tournament at Baujan Field. The Flyers will play in the second of two semifinals on Friday, as they will host the Saint Louis Billikens at 4:00 p.m.
 
The Flyers earned the right to host the Atlantic 10 Championships as the #2 seed, following a record-setting regular season, going 8-2 in A-10 play, and by virtue of a 3-1 victory Sunday, Oct. 31 over Richmond at Baujan Field. Winners of nine of their last 10, the Flyers have found their rhythm at the perfect point of the season.
 
Itala Gemelli and Laney Huber have paced the Flyers' offense during their latest run of success, leading the team in goal scoring as well as points. Gemelli netted her 12^th goal of the season as an insurance goal to close the 3-1 victory Sunday, and Huber's 7^th of the season was the eventual match-winner that sent the Flyers into the semifinals.
 
The third goal of Sunday's match was scored by junior Marlee Taylor, her 6^th of the season, landing her third on the team scoring leaders list. Jessica Sheldon was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week in the conference's final weekly awards of the year on Oct. 25^th. Sheldon followed that up by assisting on the first goal of the match on Sunday, on a beautiful cross into the box to Marlee Taylor to open the scoring. The Flyers will look to improve on their 0-5 record against Saint Louis this calendar year, most recently a 1-0 loss in St. Louis on Sept. 19.
 
SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS
Entering the A10 Conference Semifinals, the Billikens enter as the #3 overall seed, finishing the regular season with a 7-3-0 record in A-10 play. The Billikens have had a season comparable to the Flyers, however the Billikens have a total of 15 goals this conference season, 11 less than the Flyers, who scored 26 goals, which led the Atlantic 10 this season. The Billikens have been led in conference play by their leading scorers, Emily Gaebe (3 goals), Abbie Miller (3 goals), Lyndsey Heckel (3 goals), and Caroline Kelly (4 goals). When Saint Louis hosted Dayton earlier this season in Sept. 19, the Flyers lost by a 1-0 final score, with the match's only goal scored by Abbie Miller. All four of the Billikens leading scorers have started in all 10 Conference games this season.
Both the semifinals and championship matches of the Atlantic 10 Championship will be free to attend at Baujan Field, and will also be streamed live on ESPN+. UMass and Saint Joseph's will play in the first semifinal of the Atlantic 10 Championship Friday at 1:00 p.m., with the Flyers' match against SLU to follow at 4:00 p.m.