DAYTON (OH) — Last year the Dayton Flyers captured the 2009 A10 regular season title en route to a 14-5-1 record. Most of the damage was done with a large, talented senior class that possessed extensive match experience in a Dayton uniform. While the uniforms remain the same, the names and faces for 2010 are largely fresh and still waiting their baptism to D-I college soccer.

To make matters more difficult, the departures affected nearly every part of the field. The offense and defense are both in need of major overhauls. Gone are trusty All-Conference players that cut their teeth on carrying the program over their careers. For Head Coach Dennis Currier and his staff, the offseason might have been the most unpredictable ever; it’s hard to assess what you’ve got when 2/3rds of the roster has never seen the field in a meaningful way.

The A10 preseason poll picked the Flyers third behind typical conference challengers St. Louis and Charlotte. That’s high praise and even higher confidence by the league know-it-alls to suggest Currier can and will patch all the holes. We know this much: his staff has fostered a winning mindset. That counts for something when coaches can’t count on other things.

KEY LOSSES

Where do we start?

Six of the top seven scorers from last year said adios in the offseason. Isaac Kissi, Jeff Popella, Alex Torda, Peter Chilemena, Sonny Renner, and Ryan Handbury combined for 29 goals and 23 assists, leaving the Flyers with a serious void in the offense this season. Renner and Handbury played in the back line but were excellent long-ball service aces, leading the team in assists with six and eight helpers respectively. Also lost in the back line is the speedy Randy Dennis, one of just three players to start all 20 matches in 2009.

Midfield losses were also painful. Four-year standouts Zach Weiss and Ben Murray were the heart and soul of the team, providing a work-ethic that everyone else fed off. In some respects, their losses might be the hardest to replace despite just one goal and two assists between the two; they were unsung heroes that made their teammates better at the expense of personal stats and accolades.

NEWCOMERS

Headlined by Marlon Duran, UD’s first Parade All-American, the Flyers brought in 15 new players to help start a new chapter in men’s soccer. The 5-3 Duran brings extensive experience from the US Youth National Team and goes against the mold of typical Dennis Currier recruits that are 6-0 or taller.

Victor Duru and Badir Sherman join Duran on the 2010 preseason All-Rookie team, the most from any team in the A10. Other new faces include the promising Jordan Beckett and Dayton Carroll HS prep All-American Jon Buschar. Both are hoping to see meaningful minutes this season. The coaching staff brought a lot of size and athleticism to the roster, with a bunch of new strikers capable of one day performing as target forwards. There’s a considerable learning curve however and fans cannot expect immediate dividends at the level of former seasoned target strikers such as Isaac Kissi and Omar Juran.

The freshman that might make the earliest impact is Andres Acevedo of Rego Park, NY. He showed impressive speed and a collegiate work ethic in the two exhibitions and appeared most ready to make a valuable contribution.

Other local, national, and international recruits pepper the roster as new faces hoping to make their mark, but it’s going to take some time for most recruits to find their role and adjust to the physicality and pace of the college game. Several may be forced to play before they are ready, including a few in the starting lineup. The coaching staff has few other options. A handful of freshmen redshirted in 2009 and have a year of collegiate training under their belt. Those players may step up and help fill the gaps as well.

UD added a pair of out-of-state goalkeepers in Alec Storm and Montrell Morgan. Barring injury to veteran goalkeeper Tyler Picard, both are likely to spend a year learning the ropes.

OFFENSE

The entire offense basically left town in the offseason, which means young returnees and fresh newcomers must step up and provide much of the scoring in 2010. That’s no easy task and one we’re rather uncomfortable with, but there aren’t many alternatives. Inexperienced players will be forced to play early and expected to play at a high level.

The likeliest to accept the responsibility early on is sophomore Evan McCreary, who scored four goals and added five assists in 12 starts last year. Nate Dombrowski, a sophomore, earned minutes last year and has a chance to step up in an added role as well.

The losses also took their toll in the midfield where the team transitions from defense to offense. Weiss and Murray were the conduits a year ago and brought all kinds of experience to the table. They were proven winners and graduated with a strong legacy. Having moved on to greener pastures, their absence must also be replaced by new names fans are unfamiliar with. If nothing else, the Flyer offense will be forced to learn on the job and that’s never a good recipe for success. Fortunately, the early schedule is soft enough to provide some opportunities for the coaching staff to put players in positions to succeed.

Sophomore Ryan Bauer, a former Top-25 recruit out of HS, got quality minutes as a frosh last year and has the tools to be an impact player somewhere in the midfield, but he’s yet to prove he’s a scorer. Chances are Bauer will be asked to provide ball-winning energy and possession.

Fans should expect a dropoff in scoring this year, or at the very least, a lack of polish and patience when it counts the most. If the new midfielders can somehow earn quality possession over the course of the season, that will make things easier to digest. Without the ball however, it’s hard to score. If the Flyers are unable to corral the ball and link passes together, it may be a season of unsuccessful kickball in an attempt to find the net.

DEFENSE

What little experience UD has, it resides in senior Tommy Watkins and junior Jack Pearson, both quality defenders with starting experience dating back to their freshmen years. Backing them up in goal is junior Tyler Picard, a 2nd Team A10 player in 2009 and sure-handed shot stopper for the Flyers. Picard rarely mishandles a shot on goal but can wander out from goal at times to challenge balls that end up slipping by in the mixer.

Newcomers will be asked to help maintain a clean sheet however. Arguably the toughest spot on the field to break in a bevy of freshmen, the defensive side of the ball has been hit or miss in past seasons. On paper, the talent and experience was always there to be a dominating force, but counter-attacks were problematic and soft goals stunted an otherwise talented back line. This year the problem is much different; the back line is relatively thin but has Pearson and Watkins to lean on. If those two players can coach the young teammates around them into performing above their pay grade, Dayton has a fighting chance to keep themselves in most matches this year while the offense develops. After surrendering four goals in two exhibitions however, it’s hard not to think question marks remain.

SCHEDULE

The Flyers have youth and inexperience to deal with in 2010, but they face a soft schedule comprised mostly of regional teams outside the major conferences. There are no Indianas or Wake Forests to stand in the way of victories.

UD opens the season at Cincinnati, followed by the home opener against IP-Fort Wayne. Western Michigan follows to complete the first home weekend of the season. Dayton then travels to Madison, WI, for matches against UW-Milwaukee and host Wisconsin – perhaps the two toughest non-conference foes this year. The team stays on the road for a tourney at SIU-Edwardsville pitting the Flyers against the host team and also Missouri-Kansas City. Home matches with Oakland and Canisius round out the non-con schedule.

The A10 provides another scheduling break as the Flyers avoid St. Louis and Charlotte – the two teams picked ahead of Dayton in the preseason A10 poll. That’s very good news and gives UD a sporting chance to make something happen in conference play. Perhaps the Flyers can surprise a few people and pile up enough wins to tie or win the league without having to face the stiffest competition. Or perhaps the conference predicted a third place finish after accounting for the unbalanced schedule. Either way, UD must look at the A10 schedule as their opportunity to make something happen.

OUTLOOK

There’s no question that Head Coach Dennis Currier knows what he’s doing. Even despite the massive losses to graduation, Dayton has some tools to work with. The incoming class boasts some of the best individual talent in years and was ranked #20 nationally by CollegeSoccerNews. The offense must be completely revamped however and the midfield isn’t far behind. The Flyers had no problem scoring goals last year but that’s about to change unless several young pups step up quickly.

The defense will serve an even greater purpose this year as Dayton won’t be able to win matches by outscoring opponents. The mental mistakes in the back line must be ironed out to keep the offense in the game. If they do that for 90 minutes, hopefully the mids and forwards can scratch out a goal during crunch time for a few 1-0 victories.

After two exhibitions, we’ve seen enough to make a few conclusions. This team will be much better by season end than at the beginning. What UD lacks are seasoned target forwards that can shield the ball and distribute. At the moment, we fear youth and inexperience will breed impatience at times and the offense will fall into the dreaded kick-and-run mentality during the non-conference schedule; the speed of play will be too much to digest early on. We’ve seen some of that already. Maintaining possession was a serious trouble spot in the preseason.

Second, the players that see the field will be the ones with the highest work rate, not most acclaimed prep credentials. As far as we’re concerned, HS press clippings are oftentimes poor predictors of collegiate success. The Flyer soccer program is littered with past players with average high school credentials stepping up to become career starters. In other words, Dayton’s fate lies in the hands of those most willing to accept a work ethic befitting Coach Currier’s style. There simply aren’t enough minutes to make everyone happy. Each player will make their share of mistakes; those that see the field are the ones making them at full speed, not with the proverbial high school trot.

A third place finish in the A10 would be one of Currier’s best coaching jobs since arriving at UD. He has his hands full this year and the squad will test his patience. There are budding colts that must be tamed before excelling at the college level. Others with past experience must waste no time turning into go-to guys on the pitch. From a pure talent standpoint, there are no Alex Tordas, Omar Jurans, Denny Clantons, or Chris Rolfes to ride shoulders into the sunset on. This year must be a gang mentality all around. The level of play will suffer more often than past seasons. At times, things will turn to frustration. But if a high effort level exists from start to finish, the Flyers can make up for some of those shortcomings. If it’s not there, finishing .500 might be stretching it. Last year, Dayton started 0-3-1 before winning 14 of their last 16 matches. A slow start is not always a death sentence.

Fans must be patient and not expect too much too soon. The 2010 Flyers are going to be a work in progress. We think a finish in the upper half of the A10 will be a huge step forward. If UD can improve every match, that’s a measure of success the coaching staff should feel very good about. From the looks of it however, the program may be a year or two away from returning to prior form. That’s no indictment on the staff or the players, merely a reality when so many talented veterans use up their eligibility and graduate.