Women’s soccer: Flyers on four-game scoreless streak

Golz wants defense to be a foundation of what his team does, and he has seen it excel in that area in recent weeks. Dayton is 6-4-1 overall and 1-0-1 in the A-10 with eight regular-season games to play.

“We’re thrilled to have four shutouts in a row,” Golz said Wednesday. “It’s a product of team defending from our goalkeeper to our forwards and everybody in between. We’re doing a much better job than earlier in the season. We made some big strides in limiting opposing teams and what they’re able to do and chances they’re able to create.”

RELATED: Golz ecstatic to be a Flyer again

Junior goalkeeper Kaelyn Johns made eight saves against George Mason. It was her sixth shutout. She has been named A-10 Defensive Player of the Week two weeks in a row.

“I think our back line has made significant strides,” Golz said, “and (Johns) certainly has made some impactful saves. When you’re playing at a high level, you need your goalkeeper to make two or three influential saves a game, and she’s done that consistently.”

The Flyers started A-10 play 1-3-2 last season, so getting off to a better start in conference play was crucial. UD had to win three of its last four last season to clinch a berth in the A-10 tournament.

“It’s vital,” Golz said. “We talked a lot about making sure we didn’t dig a hole for ourselves in comparison to last season when we played the last game of the year fighting for tournament contention.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: UD gets 2018 commitment

Senior forward Alexis Kiehl leads the team with five goals. Last week, she was one of 30 women’s soccer players from across the nation named as a candidate for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award, which honors student athletes who excel on and off the field.

The score of the year, so far, however, belongs to sophomore midfielder Jordan Pauley. Her golden goal in the 98th minute on Sept. 17 beat Xavier 1-0.

“Having a local rivalry with Xavier and winning a game in that fashion was fun and exhilarating,” Golz said, “and helps to build confidence and momentum. I thought we played well in that game. We controlled most of the game and had a number of opportunities to get the go-ahead goal. It was a well-struck ball by Jordan. It was a spectacular goal and finish. It was great to do that just prior to entering league play.”