The 2004 season was the best in school history, sporting a 20-2 record and the nation’s longest winning streak. The past two years have been sub-par by UD standards however with a 10-7-3 mark in 2005 and 8-7-3 finish last year. The reason for the slide is no secret: the Flyers lost one of the most talented senior classes ever in 2004 and since that time have struggled to find players capable of filling their holes and finding the back of the net. Looking at the numbers more closely, Dayton outscored opponents 47-12 during that magical 2004 campaign, but those numbers slipped to 29-18 and 29-23 since. The margin of victory has taken a downturn but more importantly so has the margin for error. At no time over the past two years did UD seem like the cocky, confident A10 juggernaut fans have spent a decade cheering for. Last year’s youth movement and senior class comprising only the injured Jaime Monahan meant a lot of new faces were called upon to do the things expected from upperclassmen.

While last year’s record failed to matched 2005, most consider 2005 the more disappointing of the two because a number of capable upperclass players were around to get the job done. Last season was a different story. With no senior leadership to speak of and a number of freshmen forced into the starting 11, it was not surprising to see the Flyers struggle to compete, let alone generate victories. Unlike 2005 however, 2006 showed some spark from a number of newcomers that should bode well in future years. If nothing else, the newbies rejuvenated the program with a swagger and expectation of excellence — and that bravado seemed missing a year prior and from many returning players last fall. While the overall record was unacceptable to Head Coach Mike Tucker and his staff, fans saw enough of an attitude change to forecast better days ahead. It’s a year later and with nearly the entire team back, Dayton should re-establish itself as one of the teams to beat in the A10. Perhaps the Flyers still aren’t the league favorite, but the league favorite will find the Flyers far more difficult to handle.

Giving Dayton a chance to return to league prominence is the sophomore threesome in the attacking third that played well last year, carrying much of the scoring burden as first-year players. Mandi Back, Colleen Gibson, and Caitlin Proffitt are the program’s future. Each of them has All-League talent and Back finished off 2006 with a scoring flurry to earn 1st Team A10 honors as a rookie. Leading the team in scoring (7gls, 2asts), Back is quick and finds ways of getting past players in the attack, using a hair trigger to put shots on goal that challenge opposing goalkeepers. She needs to improve her strength to win more balls. Gibson is the paring knife of the three, working the midfield by carving up the defense with the best individual foot skills on the team. Feisty and physical despite her size at 5-2, she scored two goals and added two assists a year ago but will be counted on to carry more of the scoring burden this year instead of just setting up other players. Proffitt (5gls, 1ast) is the target forward with the physical attitude to run through players and overpower timid defenders. She oftentimes forces the referee to blow his whistle to reduce her advantage and playing style — that’s exactly what UD needs in the attacking third. Senior Jen Leslie was hampered by injuries for most of last year but has a knack for being extremely opportunistic when she sees the field. She scored three goals as a sophomore without starting a match and had a terrific exhibition season this fall.

Senior Dara Elk made strides as a sub off the bench a year ago, tallying four goals and two assists. Elk has a knack for scoring big goals and should receive strong consideration for a starting spot as an outside midfielder. The more offense she can add in her final year, the more difficult the Flyers are to stop. Juniors Amanda Gallow and Stephanie Wurth are returning starters and proven players. Gallow plays outside mid but cheats forward a lot to use her speed advantage against almost everyone. She has also spent time as an outside defender and does well there. Wurth has been a mainstay in the middle of the Flyer defense over her first two seasons, but probably finds herself working as a central defensive midfielder in 2007, directly in front of redshirt junior April Carbajal. Carbajal was a central midfielder over her first two years, but never looked comfortable as a playmaker or goal scorer. She switched to the central back line in the spring and the staff was ecstatic with her performance.

Preseason All-Conference midfielder Kristen Persichini enters her senior year as a steady contributor in the middle third of the field. Persichini can win balls in the air and establish possession, but needs to be a go-to goal scorer on offense and push forward with more assertiveness. A player of her size and skill has just eight career goals in three seasons and should come into 2007 with expectations of scoring at least a half dozen. She took just 13 shots all of last year, but earned 1st Team All Great Lakes Region. She’s come off the bench in the first two exhibition matches, but that could be a result of better team depth rather than looked upon as a demotion.

Elsewhere in the midfield, sophomore Lauren MacCormick won a Snickers Youth National Title over the summer and saw action in 13 matches last year. Canadian Cara Cornacchia barely saw the field before taking a medical redshirt, but the coaches are excited about her potential. Senior Natalia Walters spends all of her time at outside mid and like others, must develop into a reliable goal scorer. She has one more season to make it happen. One player fans won’t see this year is junior Kim Sacher, a speedy outside mid with a good motor who suffered a knee injury in the offseason and will sit out the year. She started 15 games in 2006 as a defender who has the ability to move forward. Senior Alli Foust usually comes off the bench and can muscle players off the ball.

Defensively, expect senior Courtney Sirmans to be in the starting 11. Biggest on the team at 6-1, Sirmans is a physical player with a huge foot to play long balls out of the back. Suffering from nagging injuries over the last two seasons has dramatically slowed her down, but her condition is in much better form nowadays. The staff likes to move her forward on set pieces near the box as a target player to re-direct headers on goal. As a frosh, she played striker during stretches, but don’t expect to see that now. Sophomore Eileen Hughes was perhaps the most underrated — or underappreciated — freshman from 2006. Hughes has good speed, even better instincts, and finds a way to make plays. She started just once but appeared in 14 matches and has a lot of upside. She’s our darkhorse pick to become an All League player before her career is over. Anticipate the arrival of heralded Canadian defender Lauren Maybury after sitting out last season. A member of the Canadian national player pool, she should push for a starting spot somewhere in the back line. Lakota East product Emily Miller played in five matches last year and can pull duty as a defender or midfielder.

Senior Niki Reed should be the goalkeeping favorite. She made nine starts last season with a 1-3-3 record and a 1.47GAA while splitting playing time with freshman GK Tasha Dittamore. Dittamore transferred to Missouri in the offseason and took a 5-2 record and 0.95GAA with her. That opens the door for Louisville transfer Deana Waintraub who looked decent against London Supernova in the first exhibition match. Waintraub started 17 matches for the Cardinals as a true freshman and five matches as a sophomore, so she has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Senior Stacy Chew has been a backup goalkeeper since she joined the program but with injuries to Dittamore, started twice in 2006 and saw action in two other games. The Flyers bring in one goalkeeper from the prep ranks in Lisa Rodgers from Butler, PA, who won a Region I club title and a state runner-up at Butler HS in 2003.

The remaining newcomers are headlined by Beavercreek HS product Kelly Blumenschein, a NSCAA All-American for the Beavers. She added 1st Ohio D-I All-State to her credentials and was a two-time GWOC Player of the Year. Judging by how she looked in the preseason, Blumenschein is the best candidate to make an immediate impact and contend for A10 All-Rookie. Lindy Barber, an attacking player from Assumption HS in Louisville, KY, was a three-time All-State player while Allison Giner follows her sister Gretchen to Dayton after a standout career at Carroll HS. Giner is quick and could surprise. Bethesda, MD, product Jerica DeWolfe tallied 63 goals and 60 assists in her four-year career at St. John’s College HS. She was named to the Washington Post First Team All-Metro team twice and brings considerable ODP experience at the state level. Like Giner, she has quick feet and looks like a player willing to work as hard as it takes to impress. Midfielder Tori Oelschlager comes to UD from Glendala, AZ, where she was a 4-time All-Region player. Jessica Dause is from nearby Cincinnati McNicholas HS and twice earned all-conference honors. Samantha Shaffer played for Northmont HS and was one of the top players in the Miami Valley.

Nine home games give the Flyers a chance to earn some victories this year, but a .500 record at home in 2005 suggests Dayton must do a better job of protecting the home turf. They host non-conference foes San Diego and Pepperdine — both top notch soccer programs, while adding Oakland to the home schedule. A tournament on the west coast against Cal Poly and Loyola Marymount opens the season while a second weekend tournament at Minnesota pits the Flyers against the host Gophers and Iowa State. The goods news: Dayton hosts A10 favorites Charlotte, Rhode Island, and St. Louis. The 49ers are quickly becoming a league power and had a Top-25 recruiting class last year. The Rams remain tough and St. Louis is once again the team to beat.

Objectively, the Flyers should be much stronger this year. Last year’s mishaps and frustration came from a lack of upperclass leadership and too many newcomers asked to carry the load. Not that the talented frosh didn’t perform as well as expected, but other teams sporting proven veterans and fewer unknowns on offense were able to capitalize and expose the Flyers’ lack of experience. Perhaps opponents sensed UD was ripe for the taking too. This year’s team is not the most talented in program history but has some positive things going for them. Yet many question marks remain. The defense should remain solid, but the midfield must find more ways to open up the attack and add scoring punch of their own. The maturation process of Back, Gibson, and Proffitt in the forward third is a key to the season. If they improve upon where they left off in 2006, Dayton could be very dangerous when pushing toward goal with pace. But they need support and cannot generate goals with one vs. one brilliance every game. Diversity would go a long way and getting more scoring out of veterans like Persichini, Walters, Elk, Gallow, and others may be the difference in the long run. Help from the newcomers is always a question mark. Expect the Canadians to suit up and prove they belong in the program. Blumenschein has a ton of potential and is the kind of recruit capable of being a career starter from opening day.

The past two seasons have been un-Flyer like, which is all the more frustrating considering they followed the best season in school history in 2004. A number of legitimate reasons are to blame however and several of those should be less of a factor this year. What may ultimately decide Dayton’s chances in the A10 could have less to do with talent and lineups and more to do with attitude and expectations. In years past, Flyer teams took the field knowing they were going to win. Two years ago that all but vanished as the season wore on. Last year the hungry frosh helped reclaim some of that swagger. A year older and wiser, Tucker’s team has enough playmakers on offense to start expecting excellence more consistently. The midfield is a veteran group that added much-needed experience but must also throw in more goal scoring ability. Defensively, things should be okay. And in the nets, Reed and Waintraub are unlikely to be the weakest link.

The preseason pollsters tabbed the Flyers third in the league, behind defending league champ St. Louis and upstart Charlotte. That’s a safe choice and all things considered one we can’t find a lot of disagreement with. To be the best once again, the Flyers must beat the best. Proving that preseason ranking wrong is all about walking the walk and those chances will certainly be there in 2007.