DAYTON - The University of Dayton women's soccer team will return to action at Baujan Field this week, as they will square off against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday night. Following Thursday night's home match, they will hit the road for two straight matches, beginning at Bellarmine Sunday afternoon.
UD is 3-0-1 on the season, and off to its best start since 2011, when the Flyers opened 4-0.
FLYER FACTS
Winners of three straight, the Flyers enter Thursday's match clicking on all cylinders. The defense has been stout, with Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week MacKenzie Lutz leading the Flyers to three straight shutout victories. In those three shutouts, Dayton has held its opponents to an average of just three shots on goal per match.
On the offensive side, contributions abound from the forwards as well as the midfielders.
Itala Gemelli was named the Atlantic 10 Co-Offensive Player of the Week for her two-goal performance against NKU last Thursday on the road. Gemelli leads the Atlantic 10 in goals scored, and ranks eighth in the NCAA with her three early season tallies.
Jessica Sheldon and
Natalie Hegg also netted their first goals of the 2022 season last week, with Hegg's being a free-kick game-winning goal against Kent State.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes enter Thursday's match with a 2-1 overall record this year, as they opened the season on the road with wins at Missouri and Kansas, before dropping their home opener to BYU 2-0 last Friday.
Kayla Fischer leads a balanced Buckeyes attack, which has had three different goal scorers through three matches. Ohio State has ran a two-goalie system through the first three matches, with Molly Pritchard and Katherine Robinson each playing 135 minutes. All three goals against the Buckeyes this season have been scored on Pritchard, who has also made nine saves.
SCOUTING BELLARMINE
The Knights will take on the NKU Norse on the road on Thursday before playing host to the Flyers Sunday afternoon. Bellarmine has posted a 0-1-2 overall through three matches this season, all of which have been played against opponents from the Horizon League. The Knights took a loss to open the home schedule against Wright State, before going out on the road and earning draws against IUPUI and Purdue Fort Wayne.
Bellarmine averages just over seven shots per match to this point, and has scored just two goals to start the year. Between the poles, sophomore Cambria Kingman has played two full matches and allowed three goals against while making four saves.
Both matches can be seen live on ESPN+, and admission to Thursday's Ohio State match is free. The first 100 students in attendance Thursday will receive a Dayton Soccer hooded sweatshirt. Dayton's next home match is Sunday, Sept. 11 against Akron at 1 p.m. ET.
