DAYTON – The University of Dayton women's soccer team hits the road for the first time this season Thursday, Aug. 31 when it travels to the University of Akron to take on the Zips for a 7 p.m. match.
 
REDA NAMED DEFENSIVE POW
• Sophomore keeper Batoul Reda has been named the Atlantic 10 Conference's Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday afternoon.
 
• Reda had a fantastic week in net for Dayton, helping the Flyers to another undefeated week, defeating Louisville 2-1 and drawing with Illinois, 0-0. In UD's win over the Cardinals, Reda set a new career-high with nine saves while facing 17 total shots. In the Flyers' first shutout of the season, the Dearborn, Mich. native stopped six Fighting Illini shots and registered her first clean sheet of the 2023 campaign and seventh of her career.
 
• The sophomore leads the Atlantic 10 in saves on the season with 23, has a .885 save percentage, and a goals-against average of .750.
 
A NARROW MISS
• Trying to repeat their late-game heroics from the Louisville match against Illinois, the Flyers narrowly missed a scoring opportunity in the 84th minute.
 
• Madison Wilson served a dangerous corner into the box and both Noel Blain and Maddie Bowman were able to get shots off, but both were denied by the Illini keeper.
 
• Neither team registered a serious chance after that opportunity, leading to Dayton's first draw of the 2023 season.
 
UNBEATEN STREAK REACHES SIX
• With its draw against Illinois, Dayton improves to 3-0-1 on the season and has pushed its regular season unbeaten streak to six.
 
• The Flyers' last regular season loss was a 2-1 setback Oct. 16 to No. 10 Saint Louis.
 
FIRST SCORELESS DRAW SINCE...
• Sunday's draw with Illinois was Dayton's first scoreless tie since the NCAA moved to eliminate regular season overtime.
 
• The last time the Flyers earned a scoreless draw was in the 2021 season when it finished 0-0 after two overtimes at the University of Kentucky.
 
• UD's last match without a goal came against Ohio State on Sept. 1, 2021 when the Flyers fell 4-0. Dayton immediately went on to win nine consecutive matches, allowing just two goals while scoring 21 in that span.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Dayton and Akron have played one another four times in program history, with the Flyers posting a perfect 4-0 record.
 
• The two sides played for the first time in 2017 in the Rubber City, with UD coming out with a 3-2 victory. The Flyers are 2-0 when playing at Akron.
 
• Dayton has won by scores of 3-2, 3-2, 2-0, and 2-0 so far in the series.
 
SCOUTING THE FLYERS
• Dayton stayed unbeaten after earning a 0-0 draw moved to 3-0-1 on the campaign. The shutout was the first of the season for the Flyers' defense.
 
• Mairin Wessner leads the Flyer offense with three goals and eight points, while senior Madison Wilson has four points (two goals) and fifth-year Marlee Taylor also has four (one goal, two assists).
 
• Senior Diana Benigno leads the team with three assists on the season. Wessner and Taylor have each registered a pair.
 
• Batoul Reda has 23 saves on the season and was most recently named Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week.
 
SCOUTING THE ZIPS
• Akron has started the season 1-2-0, picking up a 3-1 win over Cleveland State in the 2023 opener and falling in consecutive matches to Youngstown State and Robert Morris by 1-0 and 3-0 finals, respectively. The Zips were picked to finish last in the MAC preseason coaches poll.
 
• Morgan Pentz leads the Zips with two goals on the season, while Ella Hadley scored the other. Rachel Wenzel and Caitlin Bruni each have an assist.
 
• Penelope Cuirinier has logged 180 minutes in goal on the season, turning in a GAA of 1.00 and a save percentage of .667.
 
UP NEXT
• Dayton continues its road swing with a trip to Fairborn, Ohio on Sunday, Sept. 3 for a showdown with Wright State. The Flyers and Raiders kick off at 6 p.m.
 
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