The 2006 University of Dayton fall sports season began over the weekend with all three Tier-1 programs in action for the first time this year. The results were all over the map and that’s not entirely surprising in light of the UDPride preseason forecasts leading into the opening weekend. There were high expectations for women’s volleyball, cautious optimism for women’s soccer, and lingering questions about men’s soccer. For the most part, the programs held true to early expectations.

The volleyball team took top honors as the program leaving the gates in a dead sprint. The Flyers polished off Southern Illinois, IUPUI, and Youngstown State without dropping a game all weekend. Senior All-American Faye Barhorst was in rare form as usual, but redshirt freshman Chauntay Mickens – our preseason candidate for surprise player to watch – got her college career off to a terrific start by earning tournament MVP honors. Setter Erin Schroeder joined Barhorst and Mickens on the All-Tournament team, with sophomore transfer Nicole Bateman impressing fans with an outstanding first impression. Things get tougher as the Flyers take on Top-20 foes Louisville and Arizona in their next two matches. The Cards stumbled early with a loss to Jacksonville State, so they are definitely beatable. Bateman’s ability to providing first-hand scouting of her former teammates to the UD coaches and players should prove valuable and afford UD a terrific opportunity to improve to 4-0 on the season. Head Coach Tim Horsmon admits time and again that Dayton must beat a few top programs on the schedule to gain respect. A few critical points in past seasons have cost the Flyers such a victory, but those teams were not as talented.

A season opening 2-2 draw on the road at Toledo left mix feelings for Mike Tucker and his team. After forging ahead 2-0, the Flyers yielded a pair of goals in the final 30 minutes (the equalizer just three minutes from end of regulation) to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Reports indicate UD couldn’t manufacture the polish and energy level so prominently displayed in the blowout wins of the preseason, but woke up and had the better run of play in the two overtimes. The bad news is Dayton tied a match against an opponent they should have defeated. On the other hand, the Flyers scored twice on the road with a young offense. A pair of goals on the road is usually good enough to get the job done. Coupled with the fact that UD didn’t play their best in regulation time, there’s something to be said for managing to score goals while not at your best. Last year’s team has trouble scoring goals against pockets of fog and mist, let alone goalkeepers and defenders. If nothing else, the Flyers are finding the net and while the tie probably stings at the moment, there’s a lesson in it to learn from. Expect a few more stumbling blocks before it’s over, but Tucker’s team will finish the year a better team than they started. With Toledo in the rear-view mirror, there is no time for complacency because a weekend trip to the west coast for matches against regional headaches San Diego and Pepperdine await.

That goes for the men’s soccer team as well, but in order to finish stronger at year-end (and we certainly think they will), Dayton must develop a reliable offense and score goals. Skipper Dennis Currier has made a coaching career of developing teams into goal scoring machines, but he has his work cut out for him this year. The Flyers went scoreless in a pair of losses to host Northwestern and Northern Illinois over the weekend, but had just as much trouble developing scoring opportunities. The Flyers were outshot in both matches, with just eight total shots on goal. With a tie to Ohio State and a 2-0 victory over BGSU in the preseason, the team has already demonstrated enough potential to be a competitive side. Looking up and down the roster however, Currier’s team will remain a work in progress – perhaps until the conference opener. All told, 10 of 16 players who appeared against Northwestern and 11 of 18 against Northern Illinois were making their Flyer debuts. All of the proven goal scorers were lost to graduation with the exception of sophomore midfielder Joe Olwig. Expect the scoring punch to come from different faces every weekend. The team’s strength lies in quality depth at nearly all positions. What the depth offers in coaching options, it lacks in veteran experience. And they have no choice but to learn on the job until the secret sauce is uncovered. Thankfully, everyone plays hard and hard work is the first ingredient. Fans should expect a first-rate effort in the home opener on Thursday evening against Butler.