PHILADELPHIA – La Salle returns home this weekend for their final home stand of the regular season. The weekend will be rife with playoff implications, as the Explorers have an opportunity to solidify their A-10 tournament position, playing against two teams that sit above them in the standings. First, the Explorers have a huge 7:00pm clash Friday evening against the rival Dayton Flyers. The Blue & Gold will wrap up their regular season schedule with a 3:00pm matchup against George Mason.
 
Scouting the Explorers
The Explorers enter this weekend coming off a disappointing road split of last weekend's matches.
 
Last Friday, the Explorers dropped a 2-1 result to St. Bonaventure. The loss was particularly disappointing because of how it happened. The Explorers took a 1-0 lead in the 83^rd minute of play on a beautiful strike by freshman midfielder Deja Davis. It looked like the goal would be decisive, coming so late in the contest, but the Explorers lost defensive focus down the stretch. St. Bonaventure rallied to score twice in the final seven minutes to down the Explorers.
 
Although the Friday afternoon loss was deflating, the Explorers rebounded nicely in their next contest against Duquesne on Sunday afternoon. La Salle fired 19 shots with eight of those shots on-goal, while holding the Dukes to only two shots on-goal in the match against the overmatched Dukes. The Blue & Gold controlled play from the outset, staking themselves to a 2-0 first half lead on goals from redshirt-junior Kerri Aiken and freshman Marykate Bateman. Aiken added a second marker early in the second half to snuff out any hope of a Duquesne rally.
 
Junior striker Kelsey Haycook added two assists, one in each game, to add to her Atlantic 10 leading point total. She leads the next closest player by five points, notching 33 total points (13 goals – 7 assists) on the season. Her 13 goals are tied for first in the conference, while her seven assists are the fifth most in the A-10.
 
Freshman midfielder Deja Davis has heated up in recent matches. She has found the back of the net in two of the last three matches, after not scoring a goal through the first 14 matches of the season. Her secondary scoring will prove extremely beneficial for the Explorers, as they inch closer to post-season play.
 
Redshirt-junior defender Kerri Aiken has played splendidly on the defensive side of the ball for the Explorers; however, she has played a nice role as a tall presence in the box on offensive set pieces for the Explorers. She has now recorded three goals on the season, including two game-winners, after not finding the back of the net in her first two seasons wearing the Blue & Gold.
 
Sophomore keeper Jessica Wiggens did not see much action against the Dukes on Sunday, only having to make two saves. Nonetheless, she posted her fifth clean sheet of the season, while also extending her conference lead in both goals against average and save percentage. She now has sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 conference in both those categories, posting an extremely strong .842 save percentage and 0.61 goals against average.
 
La Salle Explorers (11-4-2; 3-2-1 A-10) vs. Dayton Flyers (11-4-1; 6-0-0 A-10)
Friday, Novemeber 1, 2013 | 7:00 PM | McCarthy Stadium – Philadelphia, Pa.
Live Stream | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter @ExplorerGameDay | Text Alerts
 
Scouting the Flyers
Dayton has been the class of the Atlantic 10 this season. The Flyers got off to a slow 2-4 start to their season; however, they have gone 9-0-1 since that slow start. They are undefeated in conference play with a 6-0-0 mark. In their most recent contest, they defeated the Fordham Rams 3-1, on the strength of three straight second half goals. The Flyers and Explorers have not met since 2011, when the Blue & Gold shocked the #15 ranked Dayton Flyers with a 2-1 overtime victory at McCarthy Stadium.
 
The Flyers are at the top of the conference leader boards in most offensive and defensive categories. Offensively, they lead the Atlantic 10 in both points (109) and goals (37), while ranking second in the conference in assists (35). Defensively, they are tied for first in the Atlantic 10 in goals allowed (14), while ranking second in the A-10 in both goals against average (0.86) and shutouts (8).
 
The Dayton offense is a juggernaut. They boast four of the top eight overall scorers in the Atlantic 10. The strength of their team is their dynamic midfield.
 
Sophomore Ashley Campbell is their leading scorer. She ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in points with 28 (13 goals – 2 assists). Her thirteen goals are tied with Haycook for the top mark in the conference. She jump-started the second half scoring run in the Flyers last match, notching the game-tying goal against the Rams.
 
Complimenting Campbell in the midfield is senior Juliana Libertin. She has recorded 25 points (6 goals – 13 assists), good for third most points in the conference. Her thirteen assists lead the conference in that category, while her six goals are tied for eighth in the A-10. She found the back of the net twice against the Rams, including the game-winner on a penalty kick.
 
Sophomore Nicole Waters has been a deft creating presence for the Flyers as well. She is second in the conference to Libertin, with twelve assists on the season. Overall, she has notched 16 total points (2 goals – 12 assists), tied for seventh best in the conference.
 
Supplementing the attack up top for the Flyers is senior striker Stephanie Emery. She has collected 20 points (9 goals – 2 assists) this season, fourth best mark in the conference. Her 9 goals are the third highest mark in the conference, as she has more than doubled her career goal scoring output, entering the 2013 season with seven career scoring markers.
 
Freshman keeper Elizabeth James has been a brick wall for Dayton in net during her rookie season, and a primary reason why the Flyers have only allowed three goals in A-10 play entering this weekend. She has started 14 matches for the Flyers this season, and has notched a clean sheet in half of them, leading the Atlantic 10 with seven shutouts. She ranks second in save percentage (.829), third in goals against average (0.87) and fourth in total saves with 68.
 
La Salle (11-4-2; 3-2-1 A-10) vs. George Mason (7-8-1; 4-2-0 A-10)
Sunday, November 3, 2013 | 3:00 PM | McCarthy Stadium – Philadelphia, Pa.
Live Video | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter @ ExplorerGameDay | Text Alerts
 
Scouting the Patriots
George Mason has been strong in conference play since their 3-0 loss to Dayton in the conference opener. They have rebounded to win four of their last five matches, including a 1-0 blanking George Washington at home in their most recent match last Friday. The Patriots will face St. Joseph's on Friday evening, before wrapping up their regular season schedule against the Explorers Sunday afternoon.
 
George Mason ranks middle of the Atlantic 10 pack in most offensive and defensive categories. However, some of this can be attributed to a slow start in their non-conference schedule. The Patriots have only allowed five goals in conference this season, and have notched a shutout in each of their four conference victories.
 
The Patriots are not the offensive power that Dayton is, but they do have some scoring depth throughout their lineup. Five players have scored two or more goals for George Mason this season.
 
Their scoring leader is sophomore midfielder Emma Starr. She has collected nine points (4 goals – 1 assist) this season.
 
Redshirt senior midfield Jazmin Cardoso has added eight points (2 goals – 4 assists), including the primary assist on the game-winning goal by Liz Hodges (3 goals – 1 assist) against George Washington.
 
Senior keeper Lyndse Hokanson has been strong for the Patriots in net during conference play. Overall, she has notched five clean sheets, which is tied for fourth most in the Atlantic 10. She is also fifth in the conference with 66 saves.
 
Up Next
Depending on the outcome of this weekend's action, the Explorers will look to participate in the Atlantic 10 Championship, which are scheduled to begin Thursday November 7^th. Currently, the Explorers sit in sixth place in the Atlantic 10 standings and would be eligible for the A-10 tournament.