DAYTON (OH) — The UD women’s soccer team is picked to win the A10 Conference this season, so says the league coaches in preseason voting. Charlotte swept the league last year to finish first, but the Flyers ended the season at 15-6-1 (8-2-1), good enough for second place. It was a solid league performance but ultimate success at Dayton is measured by NCAA appearances and the Flyers are looking to secure their first bid since 2004. With Charlotte and UMass led by new coaching staffs in 2009, stability could be a deciding factor. Salty, veteran head coach Mike Tucker returns to the sidelines for his 15th season and knows this year’s team – on paper – has what it takes to return to the postseason. The league coaches have spoken. The field of play, as always, gets the last word.

PERSONNEL LOSSES

Tucker has a senior class groomed and experienced over the last three years to pay dividends, but the senior class of 2009 had some thunder of their own. The departures of midfielders Amanda Gallow and Kim Sacher, along with defenders Eileen Hughes, Stephanie Wurth, and goalkeeper Deana Waintraub need addressed. While none of them were franchise players, most were solid if not unspectacular and provided quality depth at key positions. Waintraub started 17 games between the pipes and had a 0.88 goals-against average. The First Team All A10 goalkeeper continued a tradition of Flyer excellence in front of the net, following a long line of former standouts that stood out as best hands in the league. Other minor departures in the roster stem from normal attrition.

SENIORS

When this year’s seniors were true freshmen, fans could see the potential. They earned playing time right away and became go-to players early in their career, but three years without a postseason appearance has to gnaw at their sides and 2009 is the last opportunity to hit pay dirt. For that to happen, the senior class must assume ownership of the program and lead the lower classes by example. Nothing against vocal leaders, but the straight talk heard the loudest is performance on the pitch.

Chances are Mandi Back and Colleen Gibson accept the challenge and are ready to assert themselves. Working in the attack, Back has been the scoring focal point for three seasons and that’s unlikely to change. Possessing strong tactics and an accurate shot, Back’s All-League reputation has an opportunity to go national if she can demonstrate better endurance and a speed rush when it counts. With 29 career goals and a bevy of league honors, the most dangerous attacking player on the preseason league favorite draws attention. If Back can avoid the double-team frustration and find open teammates lurking in free space, her own chances to score will improve as well. Gibson, the diminutive Ms. Pac-Man of the midfield, gobbles up real estate like her namesake gobbles up wafers and vitamins. Her ability to challenge opposing players head-on with team-best foot skills enable the Flyers to move forward with pace. Better yet, the individual brilliance doesn’t require a teammate to crowd the field of play. In most cases, acres of grass loom just behind the first defender. Gibson opens the field and makes her teammates better. She’s a set-up artist with 14 career assists and another First Team league player.

Cara Cornacchia saw action in 14 games last year but will be counted on as a mainstay in the starting 11 for her senior year. After missing nearly all of her freshman campaign with an ACL injury, Cornacchia has slowly regained her form in each of the last two seasons. With just two goals and one assist, scoring punch is not her calling card, though the coaching staff probably wishes she looked for her shot more often. On the other hand, she brings a strong possession game and helps transition the team from defense offense. A terrific senior year will silence those critics who contend more was expected.

Fellow senior Lauren MacCormick could be the proverbial X factor this year. She scored four goals in 2008 and appeared in every game as a running mate to Mandi Back in the attacking third. While Back is the staccato violinist, MacCormick takes a blunt force trauma approach to her concerto and reminds fans of the people-pusher Reba Sedlacek of past Flyer lore. Her ability to hold the ball and play as a target forward gives Dayton some much-needed attitude inside the mixer. Her name could pop up on the All-League list by November.

Caitlin Proffitt started her career on a tear. The one-time freshman looked like the next big thing and the heir apparent to Sedlacek in both style and substance, but results have been sporadic over the last two seasons. She lost her starting job and perhaps her confidence too, but the tools are there to be a problem child for every defender in the league. Despite less playing time, she had four goals and four assists last year and appeared more focused when it counted. Keeping that focus remains the key ingredient to her success, along with staying healthy. No one truly knows how much the nagging bumps and bruises slowed her down over the last two seasons.

Rounding out the senior class is Lauren Maybury, the Canadian import known for battling injuries as much as opponents. Her freshman and junior years were on the sidelines re-habbing but when she played as a sophomore, the Ontario native took up space in the central defense or as a defensive midfielder.

RETURNING VETS

Assessing the bottom three classes, depth shouldn’t be a problem. Neither should experience.

Helping in the attack is junior Kelly Blumenschein, the third cog in the major attacking core of Back and MacCormick. Blumenschein free-lanced as a defender in her first year – and did so exceedingly well – but moved to her natural position as a goal-scorer last season. The quick-footed and tactically smart Beavercreek native tallied six goals and six assists in 2008 and has enough range in her skill set to play every position but goalkeeper. When pinched, Tucker can easily move her into the midfield as a crafty pawn to cheat forward on the touch line. Junior Jerica DeWolfe earned nine starts in 17 matches last year, tallying four goals and two assists. The Bethesda, MD, product is opportunistic in the attacking third and finds the ball rather than letting the ball find her. Sophomore Josie Grant hails from the Motherland and saw limited action as a freshman, but has size and three more seasons to round into form.

Midfield prowess is helped with the return of Emily Kenyon, Kelsey Owen, and Tori Oelschlager. The latter two sophomores earned a bunch of playing time in 2008 as first-year players, while Oelschlager has shown flashes of being a go-to player. All three need to step it up and should that happen, UD’s chances improve exponentially.

In the rear with the gear is perhaps Dayton’s strongest starting line from left to right. Sophomore Kathleen Beljan wasted no time becoming a First Team All-A10 player as a true freshman. Beljan’s bulldog mentality on the left side is a page out of the Sarah Walker playbook. Her soccer instincts are impeccable for an underclassman and so too her ability to turn an angle on an opposing player and fend off dangerous challenges into space. With Dayton’s transition into a flat back line over the last few seasons, the middle defensive position has never been more important. Fellow sophomore Kelsey Miller brings many of the same qualities as Beljan, but does it in a slightly different manner. Her strong foot and good size make for a perfect plug in the drain directly in front of goal. The coaches were impressed enough in 2009 to play her more minutes than any other Flyer. To her right is Allison Giner, a 5-4 junior from Dayton Carroll HS. With 19 starts under her belt, she’s experienced like her running mates.

Collectively, Beljan, Miller, and Giner provide Dayton with one of the best defensive units in the league – if not the best. They should only get better over the next two seasons.

With the loss of Waintraub in goal, the transition should remain relatively seamless as Lisa Rodgers takes over. The Butler, PA, native started five matches in 2008 and earned a 1.06 GAA. By red-shirting as a frosh, the junior has three seasons of eligibility remaining. Like most fresh-faced UD goalkeepers, the break-in period was burped on the knee of returning stars. Rodgers’ methodical migration from newbie to starter should pay off like the other talented goalkeepers before her. She’s not an All-League player yet, but chances are she will be.

NEWCOMERS

The freshmen class is larger than Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. It’s so big that fans need fingers and toes to do the counting. Dayton brought in two talented goalkeepers. Jackie Thompson hails from Carmel, IN, while Coach Tucker cashed in his SkyMiles to lure Kirkland, WA, native Katherine Boone to Baujan Field. The other 10 newcomers include Linsey Eckel, Colleen Williams, Alysha Mallon, Alexis Garcia, Ali Forbrich, Alle Pacetta, Jordan Sanfrontello, Clare Dreher, Maggie Hinkle, and Shannon Donoher. The freshmen class stretches across six states with the latter name on the aforementioned list calling Don Donoher her grandfather. Most of the newcomers won’t be needed to save the ship, but in limited scouting at the first exhibition last week, keep an eye on Williams and Garcia. Williams brings experience on the junior national team and looked extremely comfortable as an outside midfielder, while Garcia brings the same YNT experience in the central midfield. Both seemed to have the confidence of the coaches already in their pocket.

SCHEDULE

The Flyers have a favorable schedule to win early and often. The toughest league matches are at the friendly confines of Baujan Field and the non-conference slate is not especially daunting. Dayton opens the season at Loyola (IL), then stays on the road for a match against rising SEC program Auburn. The Tigers are receiving votes in the preseason Top-25 and should be the toughest test before the league schedule; the Flyers beat Auburn a few years ago at an in-season tournament. The home opener is August 30th against Middle Tennessee State, but another road trip beckons with a flight to “The U” in Coral Gables, FL, for games against Navy and Western Carolina. Dayton returns for a weekend pair against Ball State and Wright State, then follow it up with a one hour bus ride to Miami, OH. Temple opens the league schedule on September 25th. Charlotte, St. Louis, Rhode Island, and UMass must win at Baujan Field – all of them a part of the league’s elite. The schedule couldn’t be more advantageous. Can the Flyers win 20 games for the second time in program history? We’re not calling it, but we are saying no opponent on the schedule has more talent. By season end, that could be good news or bad news depending on the victory total. Auburn might present the only opportunity for a marquee win, forcing the Flyers to manhandle the rest of the slate.

NUTS AND BOLTS

Offensively, the Flyers have a bunch of tools. Back, Gibson, Blumenschein, and MacCormick are proven players, while DeWolfe and Cornacchia add experience and depth at key positions. The back line could finish as one of the best iron curtains in school history. Rodgers’ assumption of duties in goal should be a painless transition. What’s not to like? The strong senior class, the underlying depth, the back line, and the goalkeeping all fall into place. Dayton’s stumbling block remains consistency. Questionable results at times in league road matches have frustrated players, coaches, and fans alike. Poor surfaces like Astroturf or inclement weather have clipped the Flyer wings when in-season momentum was at a fever pitch. Set pieces and finishing near the goal mouth have been hit or miss given the number of chances created. Injuries have been problematic and unnecessary distractions. For the most consistent program in the league (14 straight A10 tournament appearances), inconsistency – at least for Flyer standards – has been the ironic crutch.

THE LAST WORD

Moving beyond the space dust and into the clear is all the Flyers need to pile on the wins in 2009. The program is rich in tradition and proud of the A10 titles and NCAA prowess. Since the inclusion of St. Louis and Charlotte to the league however, those accomplishments have been tougher to earn. But that’s exactly how Mike Tucker likes it. At the time, he told us the league needed a new dynamic and the staff embraced the challenge wholeheartedly.

Nothing short of NCAA appearances satisfies the appetite of those in and around the UD women’s soccer program. Those who apparently know most about the league members (the coaches) think Dayton is the team to get there. We think Charlotte deserves a lot of respect and by finishing 11-0-0 last season, the Niners should be the team to beat. It’s the same dish of respect we afforded the Flyers earlier this decade despite other preseason forecasts. That doesn’t mean we think the Flyers won’t win the league and advanced to the NCAA tournament. We’re simply saying Charlotte is the team to beat until someone knocks them off the perch. For us and the rest of Flyer Nation, the first bold statement begins on Sunday.