DAYTON - The University of Dayton men's soccer team will continue the regular season this weekend with a return home to host a pair of games at Baujan Field.

The Flyers will take on Incarnate Word Saturday at 7 p.m. before hosting Detroit Monday at 5 p.m.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Dayton enters the weekend with a 1-0-1 record on the season, recording a win over UAB in the season opener and a draw with Memphis at the Wolstein Classic in Columbus. UD was also 3-0 in the preseason as well, outscoring opponents 10-2.

Head coach Dennis Currier is in his 17th year at the helm of the Flyers and the reigning Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year. UD replaces just one starter from last year's team that went on to win the A-10 regular season title with a 4-1-1 conference mark.

As a team, the Flyers rank 14th in the country with 3.00 goals per game and are holding opponents to 1.00 goal each outing. Dayton is out-shooting opposing teams 15.0 to 13.0 and at a higher percentage.

Leading the way for UD are juniors Jaden Jones-Riley and Forster Ajago, who have each have seven points on the year with three goals and an assist apiece. That led Division I going into the week. Sophomore goalkeeper Marc Kouadio has nine saves in two starts this season.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
INCARNATE WORD
Incarnate Word boasts a 1-1-1 record on the year after falling to Florida Atlantic in the opener and defeating St. Thomas at the HBU Tournament. The Cardinals drew with Detroit on Thursday before taking on the Flyers Saturday.  

Head coach Kiki Lara returns to Dayton where he was an assistant for Coach Currier from 2009-14. He is in his first full season at UIW after having his debut season affected by COVID.

As a team, UIW is matching opponents with 1.00 goal per game each, but faces a 15.5 to 10.0 shots per game deficit.

Leading the Cardinals is Wilmar Aguilar and Victor Velasco with one goal each while Diego Toribio has one assist. Senior goalkeeper Nils Roth has eight saves in his two starts.

DETROIT
Detroit comes to Dayton with a 1-0-2 record overall, holding a 2OT win over Chicago State and two double-overtime draws to Michigan and UIW. The Titans continue their road-trip with two more games at Baujan this week, starting with Incarnate Word Thursday.

Head coach Nicholas Deren is in his 12th season in charge of the Titans and 18th year overall with his alma mater. Deren was a former captain for Detroit and graduted in 1999.

Overall, the Titans are averaging 1.5 goals per game and allowing 1.00 to opposing teams. Detroit is being out-shot each game, but is more effective in putting the ball on target.

Leading the Titans is Demetri Pliakos with a goal and an assist on the year while Kyle Bandyk and Ryan Halloran have added goals as well. Goalkeeper Jonathan Kliewer has eight saves in over 200 minutes of action.

THE SERIES
Dayton and UIW have played two times previously with Coach Currier defeating his former employer in both outings. The last match took place in 2018 with UD coming out on top 2-0 at home.

UD and Detroit have met nine times prior to this weekend with the Flyers holding a 7-1-1 advantage over the Titans. The two teams squared off back in 2019 with Dayton cruising to a 5-0 victory over Detroit.

LAST OUTING
In the Flyers' last game, UD drew 1-1 in double overtime against Memphis to finish up the Wolstein Classic hosted by Ohio State. Ajago scored the equalizing goal in the 50th minute on the assist by junior Xavier Zengue to earn the point.

Incarnate Word faced Dayton's next opponent Detroit on Thursday night at Baujan Field.

JONES-RILEY EARNS A-10 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Junior Jaden Jones-Riley was named Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 30 after his hat-trick peformance in the season-opening win over UAB. He totaled seven points during the two-game stretch.

FLYERS THIRD IN PRESEASON POLL
Dayton was predicted to finish third in the A-10 in the 2021 preseason poll and received two first-place votes. The Flyers were picked behind conference favorites Fordham (six first-place votes) and Saint Louis (three votes), but ahead of Massachusetts and VCU (two votes).

ADJEI NAMED PRESEASON FIRST TEAM
The Atlantic 10 preseason all-conference teams announced as well with Dayton senior Kingsford Adjei earning All-Conference team honors. He was the lone Flyer recognized on the team from the reigning A-10 champs.

PRESEASON SUCCESS
The Flyers were victorious in all three of their preseason games this year, outscoring opponents 10-2 during the stretch. Dayton opened the 2021 preseason with a 4-2 victory at IUPUI before hosting a pair of exhibitions at Baujan Field. UD then defeated Bellarmine 1-0, avenging a regular season loss from last season and earned a 5-0 thumping of Wabash in the preseason finale.

FLYERS IN THE PROS
A pair of former Flyers are currently applying their trade for MLS teams this season. The 2016 A-10 Defender of the Year and No. 5 overall pick by the Columbus Crew now plays for the Colorado Rapids and is having a career-season. Last year's and two-time A-10 Offensive Player of the Year Jonas Fjeldberg was selected by F.C. Cincinnati this past spring in the MLS Draft and is training with the MLS side. He has yet to see first team action this season.

USL2 CHAMPS
Current Flyers Kingsford Adjei and Seth Antwi competed this past summer with the Des Moines Menace in the USL2 League and helped their team to the league championship. Adjei scored five goals in the first five games of the season and was ranked as the No. 1 prospect overall in the USL2 League. Antwi and Adjei join former Flyer and current Colorado Rapids defender Lalas Abubakar who won the USL2 title as well with Flint City Bucks back during his college career.

UP NEXT
The Flyers will remain at home to host Western Michigan Friday, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. at Baujan Field.