DAYTON - The University of Dayton women's soccer team will play host to La Salle Thursday night in Atlantic 10 action. Kickoff between the Flyers and Explorers is set for 7 p.m. at Baujan Field and admission is free.

Thursday's match is Graduate Student Faculty & Student Night! For more information please reach out to Paul Wojdacz at pwojdacz1@udayton.edu.

ABOUT DAYTON
Dayton (11-3, 5-1 A-10) moved into first place in A-10 standings after claiming the 3-2 win over Massachusetts on Sunday. The Flyers have won five-straight matches heading into today's game against the Explorers. UD ranks eighth nationally with 38 goals with 11 different goal scorers on the season. The Flyer offense is led by senior Noel Blain with 23 points (3rd A-10, 20th NCAA) on the strength of nine goals (2nd A-10, 22nd NCAA) and five assists (6th A-10). In goal, junior Batoul Reda carries a 1.071 GAA (7th A-10) with 39 saves and seven shutouts (2nd A-10, 18th NCAA).

SCOUTING LA SALLE
La Salle (7-3-5, 2-2-3 A-10) is coming off a 1-0 loss to Duquesne at home on Saturday and the Explorers are currently tied for sixth place in league standings. With 33 assists on the year, La Salle leads the A-10 and ranks 33rd nationally, led by Haley Gschrey with six helpers (2nd A-10, 39th NCAA) to go with a team-best eight goals (4th A-10, 39th NCAA). Explorer goalkeeper has a 1.067 GAA (6th A-10) with 55 saves (6th A-10).

SERIES STUFF
Dayton leads, 19-11-2
The all-time series between Dayton and La Salle dates back to 1992 but the pair most recently matched up on Nov. 1, 2023 in Philadephia with the Explorers claiming the 1-0 overtime win in the A-10 Tournament semifinal. La Salle has won five of the last seven meetings in the series with Dayton's most recent win coming on Sept. 23, 2021, a 3-0 victory in Dayton.

LAST TIME OUT
Dayton extended its winning streak to five with a 3-2 win at Massachusetts on Sunday. Freshman Laney Smith scored two goals, including the game-winner, on her way to her first career multi-goal performance for the Flyers. As a team, Dayton out-shot Massachusetts by a margin of 13-5 as nine different Flyers fired off a shot, led by junior Kyra Karfonta with three.

FLYER FACTS
• Eric Golz is in his eighth season as head coach of the Flyers in 2024. His record at Dayton is 83-48-16 (.619) and his career win-loss mark sits at 103-64-21 (.604) over a total of 10 seasons. Golz has tallied the program's second-most wins, behind Mike Tucker who had 313 wins over 22 seasons (1995-2016) at Dayton.
• Freshman Laney Smith earned the team's third weekly award of the season Oct. 14 after being named A-10 Rookie of the Week. She turned in her first career game-winner and first career multi-goal match in Dayton's 3-2 win over Massachusetts.
• Senior Noel Blain claimed her first Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week award on Sept. 23 as she recorded her second hat trick of the season, scoring three goals and adding one assist in Dayton's 4-0 win  over visiting Richmond.
• Freshman Liv Grenda claimed the Atlantic 10's first Rookie of the Week honor on Aug. 19 after scoring her first collegiate goal in Dayton's 2-1 win at Loyola Maryland on opening day.
• Dayton has won the Atlantic 10 Regular Season title 11 times (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013). The Flyers have captured the A-10 Championship title 10 times (1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016). Over 28 appearances in the A-10 Tournament, UD has tallied a 34-11-5 record in the conference postseason championship.
• The Flyers finished the 2023 season with a 13-2-5 overall record and a 7-0-3 conference mark, finishing in third place in regular-season play.
• Top returners: Diana Benigno (Gr., MF), Noel Blain (Sr., F), Kyra Karfonta (Jr., D), Ella Raimondi (Jr., D/MF), Batoul Reda (Jr., GK).

UP NEXT
Dayton will return to the friendly confines of Baujan Field Sunday to close out the week. UD will welcome VCU to town Oct. 20 for a 1 p.m. matinee.

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