DAYTON – The University of Dayton women's soccer team returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 this weekend, traveling to old rival Xavier University for a Saturday night showdown at Corcoran Field at 6:30 p.m.
 
ABOUT DAYTON
The Flyers (15-3-3; 10-0-0) are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nine years, earning the berth with a 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 Championship final. Sophomore Laney Smith leads the team in total points (17 - 6 goals, 5 assists), with fellow sophomore Liv Grenda is right behind (16, 6 goals, 4 assists). Keeper Batoul Reda has a program-record 15 shutouts on the season to lead NCAA Division I, and has 42 clean sheets for her career.
 
SCOUTING XAVIER
Xavier (15-3-2; 8-1-1) returns to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year hiatus, winning the Big East with a 2-0 win over Georgetown. Samantha Erbach leads all of Division I soccer in points with 50 (18 goals, 14 assists) and Elin Hansson has 35 (15 goals, 5 assists). Keeper Maria Galley has a .714 save percentage and seven shutouts this season.
 
SERIES STUFF
Dayton owns a 26-11-4 advantage all-time in the series, but Xavier has held the advantage in the last five meetings, going 3-1-1 against the Flyers since 2016. The Musketeers won the most recent matchup between the two in Dayton, 3-0.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Senior midfielder Riley Kerber converted a penalty kick to lift Dayton to an Atlantic 10 Championship Final victory over No. 4 seed Rhode Island on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Baujan Field.
• The Flyers and Rams played to a scoreless draw through the first 110 minutes, despite UD holding an edge in total shots (18-6), shots on goal (5-2) and corner kicks (14-2).
• Both Dayton and Rhode Island made four of five to start the decisive penalty kicks, when a URI miss set up the heroics from Kerber.
• The shutout was the 15th on the season for senior keeper Batoul Reda and the Dayton defense. The Dearborn, Mich. native saw six total shots and two on-goal in the match. She leads NCAA Division I in clean sheets for the season and is the active leader for career shutouts. Her 15 shutouts is a new Dayton record.
• Reda was named the Atlantic 10 Championship Most Outstanding Player. The rest of the A-10 All-Championship Team included: Sophomore Liv Grenda, senior Kyra Karfonta, and senior Riley Kerber.
 
DAYTON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The 2025 NCAA Tournament is the 11th in program history for the Flyers, who won the Atlantic 10's at-large bid for the first time since 2016.
• Dayton is 5-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, last winning in 2010 when it topped Virginia Tech 3-0. The Flyers' 2010 campaign came to an end at the hands of Ohio State in a shootout.
• UD has won the Atlantic 10 more than any other member institution, using a perfect 10-0 conference season to win the league's regular season title. It was the first perfect conference season since 2022.
• The Flyers have won the league's regular season title 12 times since joining the league in 1995 and have won the A-10 Championship title 11 times.
 
FAMILIAR FACES
• Saturday's matchup pits a few familiar faces against one another in the longtime rivalry between UD and XU.
• Xavier head coach Dean Ward was an assistant for the Flyers under Eric Golz from 2017 to 2021.
• In addition, Dayton forward Olivia Baca transferred in to UD this season from Xavier.
• The Edwardsville, Ill. native had seven points for X in 2024 thanks to three goals and an assist.
• One of those goals came against the Flyers.
• Baca has 10 points for UD this season (4 goals, 2 assists) and has played in all 21 games.
 
UNLIKELY HERO
• Sunday's Atlantic 10 Championship final came down to penalty kicks, and the Flyers' decisive make came from an unlikely source: senior midfielder Riley Kerber.
• In two seasons with the Flyers, Kerber has averaged over 76 minutes a game and has tallied one assist from her defensive midfield position. The senior has yet to register a collegiate goal.
• Prior to her time at UD, Kerber averaged 30 minutes a match at Boston College and had a pair of assists, but no goals.
• Sunday's championship-winning goal beat the Rhode Island keeper and sent Dayton to its 11th NCAA Tournament - but still doesn't count as a goal for Kerber.
 
REDA'S RECORD-SETTING CAMPAIGN
• Senior keeper Batoul Reda has had a senior season to remember, breaking the UD career and single-season shutouts records, while also entering the NCAA's record book for career clean sheets.
• Reda's GAA of 0.47 is a career best and good for second-best in program history (Katherine Boone - 0.41 - 2009).
• The Dearborn, Mich. native's 15 shutouts this season is two more than Boone's previous record, while Reda's 42 career shutouts is 13 more than previous record-holder Stephanie Weisenfeld's 29.
 
ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPIONS
• Sunday's championship final victory was the 11th in program history and was the second time the Flyers and Rhode Island played for the title. The two first squared off for the 2004 title, with Dayton emerging victorious in a 1-0 overtime game.
• Sunday was the second time in the nine years of the Eric Golz era that the Flyers have played for an Atlantic 10 Championship title.
• The last time the Flyers played for a title was in 2022, when UD fell to Saint Louis 4-0.
• Then-freshman Batoul Reda was named to the All-Tournament team.
• Three years later, Reda was named the A-10 Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after allowing just one goal over three games.
• UD last won the A-10 Tournament in 2016 when, as the No. 7 seed of the tournament, it topped No. 1 Saint Joseph's 7-0.
• Dayton put their best foot forward during their run to the 2016 Championship, winning the opening round over No. 2 Saint Louis 3-0, and winning the semifinal over No. 6 George Washington by a 2-0 final.
 
UP NEXT
• Should the Flyers win on Saturday night, they will advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 
• The NCAA Tournament's second round date, times, and sites will be announced after the completion of the first round.