Women's soccer: Home game against Ohio State 'tremendous opportunity' for Dayton

Aug. 30—The Dayton Flyers women's soccer team will play a home game against Ohio State on Thursday for the first time since 2015.

The 7 p.m. game at Baujan Field is the biggest non-conference test for coach Eric Golz's program, which is off to its best start (3-0-1) since it opened the 2011 season with four straight victories.

"It's awesome," said Golz, who's in his sixth season as coach, on Tuesday. "The team's excited. For us as a program, the next step in our growth is to compete for and win (Atlantic 10 Conference) championships and get into the NCAA tournament. If those are our goals and aspirations, I think playing against teams like Ohio State is necessary, and we need to show up and perform well. We have a team that's talented enough, connected enough, experienced enough to compete well with them."

Ohio State (2-1) has victories against Kansas and Missouri and a loss to Brigham Young. Dayton lost 2-0 at Ohio State last September. The Buckeyes lead the series 12-3-1 and have won five straight matches at UD since a 2-1 loss in the first meeting between the programs in 1984.

Last season, Ohio State finished 9-9-2 and made its 15 NCAA tournament appearance. It was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten this season.

"They are obviously a very talented team," Golz said. "They will compete for the Big 10 championship and have some special players in each line. It's a tremendous opportunity for us."

Dayton opened the season with a 2-2 tie at home against Toledo and then beat Wright State 2-0, Northern Kentucky 3-0 and Kent State 1-0.

"We've been able to make some progress in each game," Golz said. "We've been pretty dangerous going forward in our attack, pretty good in possession and creating opportunities from a variety of different players and in a variety of different areas of the field and through a variety of different methods in terms of open play and set pieces. We've created a really high volume of quality scoring chances. As we gain sharpness and confidence and a little bit better form, I hope we become more efficient with finishing those chances. But I think the creation and generation and volume of chances we've created has been exciting. We have a team that can be pretty dynamic in the attack."

Junior forward Itala Gemelli, of Rochester, Mich., leads the team with three goals. She led the team with 12 goals last season and was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

"She's had a great fall," Golz said. "She got to play a bit this summer with a team down in Louisville with some high-level players. She came in pretty sharp and prepared. I think each week her finishing has gotten better. Early on, she was getting a number of chances but was not quite connecting. This past weekend, her finishing was much cleaner, much more clinical in front of the goal."

Gemelli won the A-10 Player of the Week Award on Monday, while senior defender Mackenzie Lutz, of Sylvania, Ohio, was named the top defender in the A-10.

"We've grown defensively," Golz said. "Each game we've gotten a bit a bit tighter, a little bit more disciplined within our roles and a little bit better with execution. Putting together three shutouts in a row is a good thing. It's a good sign of growth and progress."

Gemelli and Lutz are two returning starters for a veteran team. The Flyers finished 12-6-2 last season and 8-2 in the A-10. They were picked to finish second in the preseason poll this season behind Saint Louis.

Among the other key players for Dayton are:

—Senior Marlee Taylor, of Plymouth, Mich., started all 20 games last season and scored six goals.

—Alicia Donley, of Pickerington, played forward last season but is now a defender.

—Freshman Ella Raimondi, of Erie, Pa., has earned major minutes as a midfielder and defender in the first four games.

—Senior Jessica Sheldon, of Medina, is a returning A-10 first-team performer in the midfield.

—Sophomore forward Noel Blain, of Canton, is one of five players who have scored in the first five games.

—Laney Huber, a senior forward from Loveland who made the A-10 second team last season, also has a goal.

—Sophomore defender Natalie Hegg, of Columbus, started 19 games last season and has a goal and an assist in the first four games this season.

—Beavercreek High School graduate Diana Benigno, a junior midfielder who started eight games last season, is playing the best soccer of her college career right now, Golz said.

At goalkeeper, Dayton has rotated three players: sophomore and returning starter Maddie Crosbie, of Niagara Falls, Ont.; senior Madelyn Dewey, of Glen Allen, Va.; and freshman Batoul Reda, of Dearborn, Mich.

"We've got a bit of a goalkeeper competition," Golz said. "Each of them do bring certain things to the game. It's a competition right now to see who's going to consistently rise above. We haven't really named a No. 1 starter yet, but that's something that we hope to be able to do in the coming weeks."