Sept. 30, 2005

DAYTON - The seven-time defending Atlantic 10 Champion University of Dayton women's soccer team returns home tonight at 7:30 p.m. to face Saint Joseph's University in a conference match at Baujan Field. The Flyers are 5-2-2 after opening A-10 play with a 3-0 win over Xavier in Cincinnati last Sunday. Tonight's match is a rematch of last year's A-10 Championship Semifinal, won by the Flyers 2-1. UD is riding a 15-match home winning streak dating back to the 2003 season and a pair of victories this weekend will tie Dayton's all-time record. Sunday, the Flyers entertain Temple at 1:00 p.m. Both matches can be heard live on the Internet and live stats are also available.

THE FLYERS
Unbeaten in six of their last seven matches, the Flyers finally solved their slumping offense in a 3-0 win over Xavier last Sunday. Three different Flyers score goals in their A-10 opening win. Senior Reba Sedlacek, the defending A-10 Offensive Player of the Year, continues to lead the offense with eight points on a three goals and two assists. She game struck for two game-winners. Redshirt freshman April Carbajal is second on the team in scoring with six points (two goals, two assists). With the exception of Sedlacek, the Flyers' top six scorers are either freshmen or sophomores. A sophomore also leads UD in the net -- A-10 Player of the Week Niki Reed. She anchors yet another dominating defense that has allowed just nine goals in nine matches with three shutouts.

IN THE POLLS
After ending last season ranked 20th by Soccer Buzz, the Flyers find themselves receiving votes in the Buzz National Top 30. Regionally speaking, UD is seventh in both the NSCAA/adidas and Soccer Buzz Great Lakes Region polls. Dayton contines to be the top ranked team in Ohio in a weekly poll conducted by the Division-I coaches in Ohio.

SCOUTING SAINT JOSEPH'S
Tonight is the Hawks' A-10 opener. SJU is 4-5-1 on the season, coming off a 3-1 loss at East Carolina last Sunday, which snapped a three-match unbeaten streak. The Hawks did have an impressive early season win at Villanova, 2-1. Alisha Paine leads the offense with eight points on three goals and two assists. She also has a pair of game-winning tallies. Nicole DiEnna owns a 1.95 GAA, .775 save percentage and has played all 921 minutes in goal.

THE SERIES
The Flyers own a 10-0-0 lead in the all-time series against the Hawks, but the last two matches have been one-goal decisions. Last year, Dayton needed double-overtime to down Saint Joseph's 1-0 in Philadelphia on a goal from Katie Lowstuter. In last year's A-10 semifinal at UMass, Reba Sedlacek put UD on the board first and former Flyer Tesia Kozlowski struck for the game-winner, sending UD to the championship match against Rhode Island. The Hawks last trip to Baujan Field was a 5-1 UD rout.

UD OPENS A-10 PLAY WITH 3-0 WIN AT XAVIER
In the A-10 women's soccer opener for both teams, Dayton blanked rival Xavier, 3-0, at the XU Soccer Complex last Sunday night. The Flyers used goals from three different players and a big night from goalkeeper Niki Reed in winning their 12th-straight A-10 regular season match. Freshman Amanda Gallow scored her second goal of the season the 33rd minute with an assist from redshirt freshman April Carbajal, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead. The goal would prove to be the game-winner as sophomore Niki Reed made seven saves in earning her fifth victory of the season. She made a pair of diving stops 10 minutes apart in the first half, helping keep the Musketeers off the board. The Flyers extended their advantage to 2-0 in the 41st minute as sophomore Jen Leslie struck for her second goal with an assist from senior Katie Lowstuter. Sophomore Kristen Persichini gave UD insurance in the 65th minute with an assist from senior Reba Sedlacek. Dayton outshot Xavier 16-12 in winning its eighth-straight over its rival. The Flyers now lead the series over the Musketeers 18-9-2.

REED NAMED A-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Coming off her performance in the win over Xavier, sophomore goalkeeper Niki Reed was tabbed the A-10's Player of the Week in women's soccer. Reed, whose seven saves in the shutout win were one off her season-high, came up with back-to-back diving stops 10 minutes apart in the first half. For the season, the transfer from Vanderbilt owns the A-10's lowest goals against average at 0.96. Her two full shutouts is second in the league.

A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP COMING TO DAYTON
Baujan Field will play host to the 2005 Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Championship Nov. 3-6. The top six teams in the conference will sqaure off, with a berth in the NCAA Championship on the line. Thursday's quaterfinal matches are set for 5:30 and 8:00 p.m. The semifinals will also kickoff at 5:30 and 8:00 p.m. Friday, with Sunday's championship at 1:00 p.m. For ticket information, contact the UD Ticket Office at 937-229-4433 or visiting DaytonFlyers.com. This will mark the third time UD has hosted the A-10 Women's Soccer Championship.

CARBAJAL NAMED A-10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Redshirt freshman forward April Carbajal, who missed all last season with an injury, had her first career start Sept. 9 against then-No. 25 William & Mary, collected her first career assist and ripped a career-best and game-high four shots. Her assist helped set up UD's only goal, as the Flyers took an early 1-0 advantage on the nationally-ranked Tribe in the 18th minute. On Sept. 11 versus then-No. 6 Virginia, Carbajal came off the bench to score her first college goal, which gave UD the 2-1 lead in the 37th minute. The Flyers would hold that lead until the 89th minute and then tie the Cavaliers, 2-2, on their home field. Her efforts in the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic led to her mention as the A-10's Rookie of the Week on Sept. 12.

SCHEDULE STRENGTH
The Flyers' 2005 slate features five teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year - Texas, West Virginia, Virginia, William & Mary and Furman. Three of those teams were ranked in Soccer Buzz's Preseason Top 30 (Virginia at No. 5, West Virginia at No. 11, Texas at No. 27). UD was one of six teams receiving votes in the preseason rankings. So far this season, UD has beaten Furman, tied Virginia and William & Mary and fell to West Virginia.

SEDLACEK LEADS OFFENSE EARLY
It should come as no surprise that the defending A-10 Offensive Player of the Year is leading the Flyers' offense once again. Senior forward Reba Sedlacek has eight points on the season with three goals, two assists and game-winning goals against Ohio and Furman. She struck for UD's first goal against Virginia, which evened the match at 1-1 midway through the first half Sunday. Now with 30 career goals, she is two away from cracking UD's top five list of career goal scorers.

HOME WIN STREAK
UD is currently riding a streak of 15 consecutive wins at home dating back to 2003, which is the second-longest streak in team history. The record is 17-straight wins between 2000 and 2002.

HOME SWEET HOME
Baujan Field, which the Flyers have called home since 1984, has been quite an imposing place for visiting teams. UD has played 187 matches there all-time, compiling an impressive 137-40-10 (.759) record in that period. Dayton has never lost more than five times in one season (5-5-0 in 1996) and has been perfect at home three times (6-0-0 in 2001 and 8-0-0 in 1987 and 8-0-0 last season). UD has already won three times at home this season.

UD PICKED AS A-10 FAVORITE
In the preseason poll of Atlantic 10 coaches, the Flyers were voted as the favorite to win the league and defend their title. Conference-newcomer Saint Louis, which is off to a 6-3-0 start this year, was tabbed second, followed by Richmond and Rhode Island. The other A-10 newcomer, Charlotte, rounded out the top five. The Flyers will host Richmond and Charlotte Oct. 14th and 16th at Baujan Field.

HEAD COACH Mike Tucker
Now in his 11th season at the helm, head coach Mike Tucker continues to climb the charts among the NCAA's winningest coaches. With a career winning percentage of .731 (154-55-5) entering 2005, Tucker ranks 11th on the NCAA's Division I active coaches list and 29th on the all-time list (includes all divisions).

WINNING WAYS
Since 2000, the women's soccer team owns the seventh-best winning percentage of any program at the NCAA Division I level. Entering this year, UD was 84-23-2 between 2000 and 2004, a winning percentage of .780.

ONE-GOAL WONDERS
Since 2003, (53 matches), more than half (31) have been decided by one goal or less. The Flyers are 23-4-4 in those close-calls, including an incredible 12-2-0 last season and already 4-1-2 this year. UD had won 12-straight (including both in the A-10 Championship) last year, before the 2-1 loss in overtime to Wisconsin in the NCAA First Round. Already this season, UD's has had seven matches decided by a goal or less.

A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
The Flyers were 3-1-0 in their overtime matches last season and are 0-0-2 this season. UD went to double overtime in both matches at the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic and ended with a 1-1 draw to William & Mary and 2-2 deadlock with Virginia. All time, UD is 21-12-11 in overtime matches, but an impressive 15-5-7 under Tucker. The loss to Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament First Round last season was UD's first overtime defeat since the 1999 season.

RECORDS FALL IN 2004
UD ended with a 20-2-0 record, held the nation's longest winning streak at 20 (a UD record) and one of the NCAA's best winning percentages. Additionally, the Flyers broke the school record for wins previously held by the 1999 team that went 18-5-0 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in team history. UD allowed just 12 goals all season and shutout a school-record 13 of its 22 opponents -- the eighth-best percentage (.59) in the NCAA. UD also set a new school record for fewest goals allowed in a season (the old record of 14 was set in 2002).

PICTURE PERFECT
The undefeated run through the A-10 regular season was the Flyers' second perfect conference record in school history. UD went a similar 11-0-0 in 2001, swept through the A-10 Championship and made UD's deepest NCAA run to the Sweet 16. The Flyers went 17-6-0 that season against the toughest schedule in team history. Last year's perfect run helped the Flyers clinch their seventh-consecutive A-10 regular season title and record eighth overall. UD allowed A-10 opposition to score a league-low three goals during the regular season as the Flyers tallied a league-leading 28.

UP NEXT
UD hosts Temple on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. and then hits the road the following weekend for matches at George Washington and La Salle. Sunday's game versus Temple can be heard live on the Internet, for details visit DaytonFlyers.com.