Fifth-ranked UD men’s soccer team starts quest for back-to-back A-10 tournament titles

There are only three players from Ohio, and only one of those has appeared in a game this season: sophomore midfielder Miles Bonham, of Upper Arlington. Bonham started all 21 games last season and has started all 15 games this season.

“That’s one of my favorite parts being a Dayton Flyer,” Bonham said. “We recruit internationally really heavily. Getting to meet everyone and experience all the different cultures is really amazing. But I also have pride in being an Ohio kid. It’s really cool that we all get together and we’re a family, and we’re playing really well.”

Dayton (10-3-2) won the last five matches of the regular season. It is the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament and will play No. 7 seed Davidson (6-6-5, 4-4) in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Baujan Field.

Dayton played three games on the road when it won the A-10 tournament a year ago. This year, it will play at home unless it runs into No. 1 seed George Mason (12-3-1, 6-1-1) in the championship game.

The tournament is reseeded after the quarterfinal games. Semifinal games will take place Wednesday at campus sites. The championship game will take place on the campus of the highest remaining seed on Nov. 17.

Dayton suffered its only two losses at home this season: 3-0 to Jacksonville on Aug. 25; and 4-2 to Fordham on Oct. 12. It also beat then No. 1 West Virginia (10-1-4), which now ranks 10th, 5-1 at Baujan Field on Oct. 15. Dayton finished the regular season with two victories at Baujan Field last week: 2-0 against Virginia Commonwealth on Wednesday; and 4-1 against Saint Louis on Saturday.

“I love playing at home at Baujan,” said Bonham, who was named to the All-A-10 rookie team as a freshman and has one goal and four assists this season. “I think we can beat any team in the country there, which we’ve seen, so we are definitely really excited.”

Dayton seeks its sixth A-10 tournament championship. It has not won the tournament two years in a row since the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

Dayton enters the postseason with the second-ranked scoring offense in the nation (3 goals per game). Only Duke (3.44) scores more often. Dayton leads the nation in shots per game (20.0) and ranks fourth in shots on goal (7.4).

Sophomore midfielder Martin Bakken, of Norway, leads Dayton with eight goals. Three players have seven goals: senior midfielder Joseph Melto Quiah, of Liberia; defender Hjalti Sigurdsson, a graduate student from Iceland; and freshman forward Andrew Armstrong, of Pompton Lakes, N.J.

Geni Kanyane, a fifth-year defender from South Africa, said Dayton’s strengths are maintaining possession, playing fast and attacking.

“Our coach always tells us that if we impose ourselves on our opponent there’s no way that they’re going to hang with us.,” Kanyane said, “and I really believe that. If we carry that same mentality, that same idea, throughout the season, there’s nobody that can keep up with us.”

In other UD news:

• The Dayton women’s soccer team’s season ended Wednesday with a 2-1 loss to No. 3 seed Massachusetts in the A-10 tournament semifinals at Baujan Field. The No. 2 seed Flyers (14-4-2) beat UMass 3-2 in the regular season on the road but gave up a game-winning goal in the 89th minute in the rematch.

• The Dayton volleyball team (24-1, 14-0) takes a 17-match winning streak into a match at 7 p.m. Friday against Davidson at the Frericks Center. The teams play again at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Dayton has won 34 A-10 matches in a row. It ranks 19th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.