DAYTON - The University of Dayton women's soccer team is set to face off against George Mason Thursday night in Atlantic 10 Conference action. The Flyers and Patriots will get underway at 7 p.m. on Sept. 26 at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Virginia. This is the third league match of the season for both teams and the first of back-to-back road league matches for UD.
ABOUT DAYTON
Dayton (7-3, 1-1 A-10) is coming off a 4-0 win over Richmond Sunday on Senior Day, highlighted by senior
Noel Blain's second hat trick of the season. Blain leads the Flyers' offense with 20 points (1at A-10, 8th NCAA) on the strength of eight goals (1st A-10, 8th NCAA) and four assists (4th A-10). UD's defense, anchored by junior keeper
Batoul Reda - who has played all 900 minutes this season - and flanked by junior defenders
Ella Raimondi (848 min.) and
Kyra Karfonta (742 min.), has recorded five shutout wins this season.
SCOUTING GEORGE MASON
George Mason (2-6-3, 0-1-1 A-10) opened A-10 play with a 3-0 loss to Fordham at home Sept. 19 and followed that with a 0-0 draw at VCU on Sunday. With 5.13 saves/game, Patriots' goalkeeper Selamawit Caldart ranks second in the A-10 (57th NCAA) but George Mason has not recorded a shutout win this season. On offense, seven different players have scored a goal led by Michi Hooks (2) while Mia Casciani has dished out a team-best two assists.
SERIES STUFF
Dayton Leads, 8-3-0
Dayton is currently enjoying a four-match winning streak against George Mason and the Flyers have outscored the Patriots 14-1 over that stretch. The two first met on Oct. 23, 1988 in Fairfax with GM claiming a 1-0 win. Most recently, Dayton downed George Mason, 3-0, on Oct. 12, 2023 at Baujan Field.
LAST TIME OUT
UD claimed it first conference win of the season on Sunday as Dayton hosted Richmond for Senior Day. Senior
Noel Blain scored three goals, her second hat trick of the season, and also tallied the assist in the 4-0 shutout win over the visiting Spiders. Dayton out-shot Richmond, 18-8, and the Flyers took five corner kicks to the Spiders' two.
FLYER FACTS
•
Eric Golz is in his eighth season as head coach of the Flyers in 2024. His record at Dayton is 79-48-16 (.608) and his career win-loss mark sits at 99-64-21 (.595) 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.
• 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 play the second of back-to-back road conference contests on Sunday with a trip to Pittsburgh. The Flyers will square off against the Dukes of Duquesne Sept. 29 at Rooney Field. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
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