Dayton men’s soccer off to strong start with two wins in Columbus

If Dayton’s performance in the preseason (11 goals in three games) and first two regular-season games (nine goals) is any indication, the offense is back in 2022, and it’s a balanced attack.

Seven players scored in a 5-2 victory Thursday against Cal Poly and a 4-2 victory Sunday against South Carolina. Dayton won the Wolstein Classic at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The host Buckeyes tied South Carolina 1-1 and beat Cal Poly 3-0.

“It’s a good start,” Currier said. “You can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Andy Sanchez, a senior forward/midfielder from Venezuela, and Manny Day, a senior forward from Grandview Heights, led the offense with two goals each. Sanchez and Michael Adedokun, a junior forward from Nigeria, each had two assists. Forster Ajago, a senior forward from Ghana who led the team with six goals last year, had one goal in the first two games.

Dayton’s play in the opening games was an extension of the preseason, Currier said, when it beat Bowling Green 2-1, tied Akron 2-2 and beat Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis 7-0.

The Flyers have been looking for goal scorers since losing Jonas Fjeldberg, who had five goals in his final season in the spring of 2021, and Kingsford Adjei, who had five goals last season and 21 in three seasons.

Fjeldberg was drafted by FC Cincinnati in the second round of the MLS SuperDraft in 2021 and now plays for Rio Grande Valley FC in the United Soccer League Championship. New York City FC drafted Adjei in the second round, and he now plays for South Georgia Tormenta in the USL League One.

“We just lost two guys to the pros, and I think we had to get back to a more balanced attack,” Currier said. “That’s what we really worked on between the spring and our recruiting. So coming into the fall, we felt like we’re going to be deeper, but with the new guys, you never know how they are going to adjust. It’s a little bit of a guessing game. We were fortunate we had a lot of new guys come in who were prepared and ready and some freshmen that are very talented. When you have more competition on the field in different areas and different positions, everyone’s giving their best.”

Among the standout newcomers are four freshman starters: Casper Svendby, a defender from Norway who had the team’s fourth goal in the opener Thursday; Basit Umar, a midfielder from Ghana; Joseph Melto Quiah, a midfielder from Liberia; and Gabriel Kringen, a forward from Norway who scored the first goal of the season for the Flyers.

Defensively, Dayton’s leader is senior Xavier Zengue, a senior from North Oaks, Minn., who has grown over the years, Currier said, to become the team’s best defender. UD didn’t allow a goal in the first 170 minutes of the season. South Carolina scored twice in the final 10 minutes Sunday.

Xavier Zengue, Sanchez, Svendby, and Day made the all-tournament team at the Wolstein Classic.

The Flyers make their home debut this weekend in the Dayton Flyer Classic at Baujan Field. They play at 7 p.m. Friday against Saint Thomas and 5 p.m. Sunday against Evansville. They will play six non-conference games before opening A-10 play at home against Saint Joseph’s on Sept. 17.

Dayton was picked to finish sixth out of 14 teams in the A-10 preseason poll. Saint Louis, the defending regular-season and tournament champion, received 13 first-place votes and was the favorite.

“I think the guys are very motivated right now,” Currier said. “They’re excited. We’ve just got to ride that momentum and also understand that two games is not the whole season.”