DAYTON - The University of Dayton men's soccer team will head north to take on Michigan State on Thursday at 7 p.m.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Dayton enters the game with a 1-2-1 record on the year and will be facing the Spartans in the Flyers' first true road test of the season.

Head coach Dennis Currier is in his 19th 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 1.50 goals per outing while giving up 1.75 to opposing teams. Dayton is out-shooting opponents 16.3 to 10.0 each contest.

UD has been a balanced team so far with six different players having two points already this year, including four newcomers. Senior goalkeeper Dario Caetano has 13 saves and one shutout this season.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State hosts Dayton with a 2-0-1 record this season and a 1-0 home mark. The Spartans hold wins over Bowling Green and Army.

Head coach Damon Rensing is in his 15th year in charge of the Spartans after spending 10 years as an assistant.

As a team, Michigan State is scoring 2.00 goals each outing and holding opponents to just 0.67 goals per game. The Spartans are shooting 16.0 times each contest and giving up 10.7 shots to opponents.

Leading the Spartans is Josh Mason and Jeremy Sharp with three points as the latter leads the team with three assists in three starts. Goalkeeper Zac Kelly has 10 saves and one shutout this season.

LAST OUTING
Dayton is coming off a tough loss at home to Milwaukee on Labor Day.  The Flyers gave up three goals at home despite nine cautions to both teams.

Michigan State earned a 1-1 draw at Villanova Monday, scoring the equalizing goal in the 39th minute after Villanova scored in the 5th minute on a penalty kick.

SERIES HISTORY
Dayton and Michigan State have played one time previously and the Spartans have one win to the Flyers' loss. The two teams last met in 2004 with a 4-0 decision in favor of Michigan State.

DAYTON DUO EARNS ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
The Flyers had a pair of student athletes recognized on the Ohio State Wolstein Classic All-Tournament Team. Grad student Hjalti Sigurdsson and sophomore Casper Svendby both picked up accolades for their efforts in games against UC Davis and CSUN.

UMAR NAMED MIDFIELDER TO WATCH
The United Soccer Coaches announced their preseason Top Players to Watch and recognized Dayton sophomore Basit Umar as one of the Top 25 male student-athletes to look out for, one of two A-10 honorees (Marc Torellas, Loyola).

FLYERS PICKED 2ND IN PRESEASON POLL
Dayton was picked to finish second this upcoming season in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll. The Flyers received 161 points behind reigning A-10 Champs Saint Louis, who earned 13 of the 14 first-place votes, Loyola Chicago earning one.

DAYTON PAIR RECEIVES A-10 PRESEASON HONORS
Dayton had a pair of student-athletes named to the A-10 Preseason All-Conference Team. Sophomore midfielder Basit Umar and senior goalkeeper Dario Caetano both were recognized after earning All-Rookie Team honors last season. (It was Caetano's first year of American collegiate soccer so he was eligible as a rookie.)

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 17 international student-athletes.

WELCOME TO DAYTON
The Flyers are bringing in the most newcomers they have had in recent history with 20 new players joining the program including 16 freshmen.

SIGURDSSON NAMED DAYTON MALE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
The University of Dayton Athletics Division chose its student-athletes of the week for Aug. 30 and recognized graduate student Hjalti Sigurdsson as the College Sports Advantage Male Student Athlete of the Week for Dayton.

UP NEXT
The Flyers head to Western Michigan Sunday at 1 p.m.