SPORTS

 

DAVIDSON, N.C. — The Davidson women’s soccer Atlantic 10 game vs. Massachusetts that was scheduled for Thursday evening has been moved to Friday at Alumni Stadium due to the expected heavy rain on Thursday. The game time will be at 11 a.m. on Friday.

The Matchup …
Davidson (2-11, 0-6 A-10), entering its 30th year of women’s soccer, will welcome the UMass Minutewomen (9-3-1, 4-1-1 A-10) to Alumni Stadium this Friday, Oct. 12 for an 11 a.m. contest.

The All-Time Series/Last Meetings …
The game vs. UMass will be the fifth meeting all-time between both schools. The Wildcats trail 1-2-1 in the series, which dates back to 2014. The last meeting occurred a year ago at UMass where the ‘Cats dropped a 3-1 decision. In 2016, Davidson won its first game in the series, a 1-0 victory in overtime.

A-10 Preseason …
The Atlantic 10 preseason poll came out earlier this week and the Saint Louis Billikens were chosen as the Atlantic 10 Conference preseason favorite in a vote conducted by the league’s 14 head coaches. The league’s head coaches also voted for an 11-member preseason all-conference team.

The Billikens (15-3-2, 7-2-1 A-10 last year) earned 192 votes and ten first-place tallies to take the top spot in the rankings. La Salle ranked second in the predicted order of finish with 184 points and four first-place votes, followed by Duquesne and George Mason, who each tallied 145 votes to round out the top four spots. Davidson received 36 votes and was tied with St. Bonaventure for 12th place.

Previous Game For the Wildcats, Sept. 30 …
Michele Manceaux scored her second goal in as many games, but it was not enough as Davidson dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision to visiting Dayton last Sunday afternoon. Dayton scored two first-half goals, with the game-winner coming in the 33rd minute. Cameron France earned her first assist of the season on Manceaux’s third goal of the year for the Wildcats.

Scouting the Wildcats …
•Michele Manceaux pace the team with three goals each and six points
•Cameron France is second with two goals and an assist
•Perry Zollicoffer has a career-high three assists, while fellow senior Natalie Connell has a goal and an assist.
•France has a team-high 20 shots
•Mary Grace Bunch (3 starts) and Sarah L’Hommedieu (10) have each saw time between the pipes. Bunch has 15 saves, while L’Hommedieu has 45, including a career-high 13 at Saint Louis.
•Davidson is 1-6 at home this year, scoring a 3-2 overtime win against USC Upstate, Aug. 20.
•The Wildcats are averaging 9.4 shots per game and have 39 corner kicks.
•This is Davidson’s fifth year in the A-10 after a 20-year run in the Southern Conference.
•Head coach Adam Denton enters his second year at the helm of the program.
•24 letterwinners return from last season, including six starters.
•11 newcomers joined the team this year, with 10 of them being freshmen.
•This year’s captains are Mia Hodges, Natalie Connell and Michele Manceaux.

Scouting the Minutewomen …
•UMass is coming off an 0-1-1 week last week in games against Fordham and George Mason.
•The Minutewomen have scored 32 goals (2.46 per game), with 10 players having scored at least one goal, and earned 40 assists.
•Lauren Bonavita and Rebeca Frisk each have six goals and Bonavita has a team-best 16 points.
•Pacing the team with six assists is Erin Doster, who also a four goals and 14 points.
•In goal, Peyton Ryan has started 13 games with a 0.56 goals against average and 37 saves.
•UMass is 4-1-1 on the road with a 2-0-1 mark against league foes.
•UMass rode an eight-game winning streak from Aug. 26 thru Sept. 30, earning six shutouts in that span.
•A year ago, the Minutewomen went 7-9-2 overall and 4-5-1 in A-10 games.
•Head coach Jason Dowiak is in his first year after a five-year stint at South Florida where he most recently served as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.

Next on the Schedule
The Wildcats turn around and will play at Duquesne Sunday in a 1 p.m. A-10 game.