DAYTON - The University of Dayton men's soccer team will return to Baujan Field this weekend to host the 2022 Dayton Classic, starting with St. Thomas College Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on the University of Evansville Sunday at 5 p.m.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Dayton enters the weekend off a trophy-winning weekend at the Ohio State Wolstein Classic, and sits at 2-0 on the season. The Flyers will make their Baujan Field debut after defeating IUPUI at home in the preseason 7-0.

Head coach Dennis Currier is in his 18th season in charge of the Flyers and was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the 2020 season.

As a team, the Flyers are averaging 4.50 goals per game and holding opponents to just 1.00 goal per contest. UD is outshooting opposing teams 23.0 to 6.5 and ranks top 10 in the country in goal differential, shots per game, assists, goals, and points.

UD is led by senior and reigning Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week Andy Sanchez, who has two goals and two assists in two games, and A-10 Rookie of the Week Gabriel Kringen, who has a game-winning goal and an assist as well. Junior goalkeeper Dario Caetano has four saves and has only given up two goals in the last 10 minutes of the contest against South Carolina.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
ST. THOMAS
St. Thomas enters the weekend still looking for its first win of the season, going 0-2 in the opening weekend. The Tommies have been outscored 7-2 in the two defeats to California Baptist and UC Riverside.

Head coach Jon Lowery is in his 11th season as the leader of the program who made the jump from Division III to Division I in 2021.

As a team, the Tommies are scoring 1.00 goal per game and giving up 3.5 goals to opposing squads. St. Thomas is being outshot by double, 8.0 to 17.5.

Individually, Oliver Bieleveldt and Jacek Nickowski have scored the two goals this season while Devan DiGrado has the lone assist on the year. Goalkeeper Ben Schliemann has made two start with five saves to six goals allowed.

EVANSVILLE
Evansville will take on Incarnate Word Friday in a neutral game before taking on Dayton Sunday in the weekend finale. The Aces are 1-0-1 on the season, holding a victory over IUPUI and draw with Bellarmine.

Head coach Marshall Ray is in his seventh season at Evansville, having previously served as an assistant with the program.

Overall, the Aces are scoring 2.50 goals each outing and allowing just 1.50 goals to opponents. Evansville and opposing squads are pretty even with 11.0 shots per game to 10.5, but the Aces are shooting at a higher percentage, putting 59.1 percent on target.

Nacho Diaz has been the main offensive threat this season with three goals in two starts while Jose Vivas has chipped in a goal and an assist. Goalkeeper Alex Vidizzoni has seven saves.

LAST OUTING
Dayton won the Wolstein Classic Championship after blanking Cal Poly Thursday and outscoring South Carolina Sunday.

St. Thomas is still looking for its first win of the season after falling to UC Riverside Sunday, 4-1.

Evansville picked up a 3-1 victory over IUPUI last Sunday, led by a brace from Nacho Diaz.

SERIES HISTORY
Dayton and St. Thomas are meeting for the first time in program history.

UD and Evansville have met 14 times previously with the Aces winning 12 of those meetings. The two teams last faced off in 2004 with the Flyers earning their first victory, 2-1 at home.

FLYERS RECEIVING VOTES IN USC POLL
In the latest United Soccer Coaches national rankings, Dayton received 14 votes. It was the Flyers' debut in the rankings this season.

WOLSTEIN CLASSIC CHAMPIONS
Dayton defeated Cal Poly and South Carolina to win the 2022 Ohio State Wolstein Classic, outscoring its opponents 9-2 over the weekend.

FOUR FLYERS EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS
Dayton had four players named to the Wolstein Classic All-Tournament Team with seniors Xavier Zengue, Andy Sanchez, and Manny Day receiving accolades while freshman Casper Svendby was named to the team as well.

SANCHEZ, KRINGEN RECEIVE A-10 HONORS
Senior Andy Sanchez was named A-10 Offensive Player of the Week in the first awards release of the season after scoring two goals and adding two assists in the Wolstein Classic title run. Freshman Gabriel Kringen picked up A-10 Rookie of the Week honors for his game-winning goal against Cal Poly and an assist against South Carolina.

FLYERS SIXTH IN PRESEASON POLL
Dayton was picked to finish sixth in the A-10 preseason poll ahead of Duquesne, Saint Joseph's, and Massachusetts. The Flyers were selected behind newcomers Loyola Chicago while Saint Louis was predicted to repeat as champions with 13 of the 14 first-place votes.

INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
Dayton historically has had a diverse team with players hailing from all over the globe. This season is no different with the Flyers having student-athletes from 10 different countries.

UP NEXT
The Flyers will head back out on the road to take on Kansas City Saturday, Sept. 10 at 8:30 p.m. ET.