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Dennis Currier
Head Coach Dennis Currier enters his 19th season as head coach of the men's soccer team.
The 2022 season saw Dayton achieve its highest national ranking in program history, getting as high as No. 16 and was ranked for seven straight weeks while receiving votes every other week. The Flyers led the nation in shots per game and finished 10-2-5 overall and 5-1-1 at home. Dayton reached its 13th Atlantic 10 Championship tournament thanks to the most dangerous offense in the country. Individually, freshman Basit Umar earned A-10 Rookie of the Year honors while seniors Xavier Zengue, Forster Ajago, and Jaden Jones-Riley were all named Second Team All-Conference. Freshmen Dario Caetano, Joseph Melto-Quiah, and Casper Svendby picked up All-Rookie Team accolades as well. Zengue would go on to be selected No. 27 overall by the Columbus Crew in the MLS SuperDraft while Jones-Riley was chosen 73rd by the Portland Timbers.
Dayton earned a berth in the 2021 Atlantic 10 Championship tournament for the 10th straight season after going 3-4-1 in A-10 play and 6-9-3 overall on the season. Senior Kingsford Adjei earned First Team All-Conference honors for the third straight year before being selected with the 56th pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft by New York City FC.
The 2020 season saw another Atlantic 10 regular season title despite overcoming numerous obstacles. The campaign was unconventional as the COVID-19 pandemic moved the typical fall season to spring of 2021. The Flyers had a shortened season and went 4-4-1 overall, but 4-1-1 in A-10 play, clinching not only the A-10 regular season title and the No. 1 spot in the tournament, but also hosted the A-10 Championship tournament. UD dominated the A-10 season awards with senior Jonas Fjeldberg and junior Kingsford Adjei repeating as A-10 Offensive Player of the Year and A-10 Midfielder of the Year respectively. Coach Currier capped off the major awards after being named A-10 Coach of the Year.
In 2019, the Flyers tied the second most wins in a season with a 13-8 record overall and advanced to the Atlantic 10 Championship game. Dayton highlighted the season with an eight-game winning streak and went 9-1 at home at Baujan Field. The Flyers received numerous conference awards including three major awards in A-10 Offensive Player of the Year Jonas Fjeldberg, A-10 Midfielder of the Year Kingsford Adjei, and A-10 Rookie of the Year Toluwalase Oladeinbo.
In 2018, Currier's squad finished 9-6-4 and advanced to the 2018 Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals. Dayton won five games in a row down the final stretch of the season and opening round of the A-10 Championships. The Flyers had four players recognized on the conference awards list including Rok Taneski, Elias Harryson, Aidan Bean, and Daniel Dos Santos. Taneski also earned All-Region, Scholar All-Region, and Scholar All-America honors as well.
The 2017 season saw the Flyers finish as runners-up in the Atlantic 10 regular season with a 6-2 conference mark and a 9-8-2 record overall. Dayton made it to the A-10 Tournament quarterfinals, hosted at Baujan Field on UD's campus. Currier had multiple A-10 Award honorees including Rok Taneski, who was named A-10 Midfielder of the Year. The Flyers also had two on the First Team, one on the Second Team, two on the All-Rookie team, and one on the All-Academic team.
In 2016, Coach Currier led the Flyers to a 8-9-3 record overall, a 3-3-2 Atlantic 10 mark, and advanced to the A-10 Tournament semifinals after an upset victory over top-seeded Saint Louis (2-1, OT) in the opening round in Davidson, N.C. Senior defender Lalas Abubakar led UD, earning Scholar All-America and A-10 Defender of the Year honors. He went on to become the highest Flyer ever drafted, going No. 5 overall to the Columbus Crew in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.
The 2015 Dayton Flyers won the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship while leading the nation as the No. 1 scoring offense. Dayton finished the season 13-5-5 and made a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Flyers advanced past Oakland in the opening round on PK's in a game that the University of Dayton hosted. Throughout the season, the Flyers led the A-10 in nine offensive categories and had a seven game unbeaten streak to open conference play. 2015 will go down as one of the most successful seasons in Coach Currier's tenure and Dayton history.
The 2014 season saw the Flyers go 7-7-5 overall with wins over No. 19 Davidson and in-state foe Ohio State. Dayton also picked up crucial points in ties with nationally ranked opponents in Saint Louis, Valparaiso, and UAB. The biggest win of the season came in the final contest of the season, which not only had postseason complications, but also gave Coach Currier his 100th career win at Dayton. The 4-0 victory at Saint Joseph's gave the Flyers yet another Atlantic 10 Championship appearance. Dayton ended the season with a loss to top-seeded Rhode Island in Richmond, Va. Currier coached Amass Amankona to First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors while Lalas Abubakar was named to the All-Rookie Team and Andrew Lightner was named Academic All-Conference.
In 2013, the Flyers continued to improve and posted a 14-2-3 record overall, including a perfect 10-0 non-conference record. Dayton was the last school in Division I to lose a game last year as the Flyers had their best start in school history. Currier's squad posted a .816 winning percentage, the best mark since 1972. Besides leading the Atlantic 10 Conference in numerous statistical categories, Dayton earned a berth in the A-10 Tournament, hosted at Baujan Field in Dayton. The Flyers picked up numerous accolades throughout the season including Dayton Flyer Classic Champions and Missouri State Tournament Champions. Nationally, Dayton ranked fourth in scoring offense, goals per game, and win-loss percentage. Individually, the Flyers racked up multiple awards including an Academic All-American in John Howe.
The 2012 season saw Dayton move forward in becoming a power in the Atlantic 10 Conference and another A-10 Tournament berth. The Flyers finished the season with an 11-5-2 record overall and a 5-3-1 A-10 mark. UD was dominant at home and won eight of its nine contests at Baujan Field. Dayton's biggest win came in a 3-2 win over No. 22 Furman on Aug. 31 and was amidst a five-match win streak to start the 2012 campaign. Nationally, the team finished seventh in scoring with 2.28 goals per game. The Flyers had a number of players recognized with conference and national awards, including A-10 All-Rookie performers Maik Schoonderwoerd and Chris Froschauer and All-Ohio performers Daniel Berko, Abe Keller, and Eddie Jones. Academically, the Dayton men's soccer program was once again recognized with a NSCAA Team Award for having a 3.0 GPA or above as a squad.
Currier became UD’s winningest soccer coach in 2011 recording win number 66, surpassing former head coach Roy Craig who had 65 wins from 1988-1995. In addition, Currier’s wins came in 130 games, which was 31 games less than Craig. Currier holds a .700 lifetime winning percentage with a combined record of 301-115-46. He ranks sixth in active winning percentage amongst coaches with five or more years experience.
Currier’s student-athletes once again earned accolades in 2011. Jack Pearson was picked to the NSCAA All-Region Team and the A-10 All-Conference Second Team. Abe Keller was selected to the A-10’s All-Rookie Team.
In 2010 defense ruled the pitch. The Flyers posted eight shutouts on the season, which tied for the second most in University of Dayton history. Currier’s program continued to help players gain national recognition. Pearson and Tyler Picard were named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and Pearson was selected to the NSCAA All-East Region Third Team. Graduate Tommy Watkins was a Top 30 candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Michael Deyhle, Nate Dombrowski and Watkins were each selected as Academic All-District IV selections.
At every level he has coached, Currier’s teams have won a conference championship and played in the national tournament.
The most recent evidence: Currier and the Flyers have claimed two Atlantic 10 titles, earned an NCAA berth in the last handful of years.
After starting the 2009 campaign on shaky ground with an 0-3-1 record, the Flyers went on to win 14 of their next 15 games, including a 3-0 blanking of No. 11 Charlotte. They finished 14-5-1 overall and 7-1 in the Atlantic 10, claiming the Regular Season title with a 2-1 overtime, come-from-behind win against St. Bonaventure. The Flyers had more first team and second team Atlantic 10 selections (four) than any other school. UD was ranked 14th in the nation in scoring (1.95 goals per game), and the Dayton defense was 25th in the nation in shutout percentage after posting nine shutouts in 2009.
UD raised the 2008 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship trophy and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, culminating one of the most extraordinary seasons in University of Dayton men's soccer history. Currier's UD squad went 15-4-3 overall, claimed the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship, earned UD's first-ever berth to the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament and finished No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas® Middle Atlantic Regional Rankings and No. 19 in the national rankings. During the course of the season, the Flyers also won two tournaments, beat No. 15 Saint Louis - a first for the program - in the midst of a six-game unbeaten streak to start A-10 play.
In addition to breaking the record for wins in a single season, Dayton tied the school record for goals scored in a season (46). The Flyers racked up more honors during the season than any team in UD history, including Dayton's first ever consideration for the Hermann Trophy Award in Alex Torda. For Dayton, 10 players amassed 27 postseason honors. On top of that, the Flyers have earned the NSCAA/adidas Team Academic Award for the past two seasons.
With a 68-48-19 record at Dayton over the previous seven seasons. He has produced the Flyers' impressive results on and off the field based on the principals of dedication, a commitment to excellence, discipline and open communication with his players.
Five former Flyers under Currier's reign have played professionally in North America and Europe. Isaac Kissi was taken in the third round of the MLS SuperDraft by Chivas USA. Dasan Robinson, who was drafted and signed with the Chicago Fire of the MLS, also was invited to the U.S. National Team tryouts.
Other Flyers in the professional ranks include Omar Jarun who was drafted by the USL's Atlanta Silverbacks, Terry Alvino, who earned a starting role for the USL's Minnesota Thunder, and Lubo Bogdanov who signed with Cheml in the first division of the Czech Republic.
The Flyers have enjoyed home field dominance under Currier's direction. UD went 8-1-0 in 2009, 9-0-0 in 2008 and 7-0-2 in 2007 at Baujan Field. UD had a home field unbeaten streak that lasted nearly three years, from Oct. 28, 2006 to Sept. 1, 2009.
Currier helped Dayton finish the 2007 season 10-4-5 overall and advance to the opening round of the 2007 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship. Using an old-fashioned method of hard-work, team play and good defense, the Flyers finished the season on a six-game unbeaten streak, had two players selected to the All-Atlantic 10 and NSCAA/adidas® Middle Atlantic Region teams and finished No. 8 in the regional rankings.
In 2006 Currier led the Flyers to a 6-9-2 record and 2-5-2 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Flyers started the season with three shutout losses and then four shutout wins. A six-game losing streak preceded the season-ending unbeaten streak. Despite the roller-coaster ride, freshman defender Ryan Handbury, earned a spot on the All-Atlantic 10 Honorable Mention Team.
In his first year as UD's coach, Currier led the Flyers to an 11-5-4 overall record in 2005, finishing tied for second in the Atlantic 10. Currier, named UD's head coach on January 24, 2005, opened the 2005 season with a 2-1 exhibition win over No. 18 Ohio State. The Flyers also won their season opener, 3-2, at Cincinnati and won both games of their home tournament, the Dayton Marriott Flyer Classic. Currier charged his team with continuing the Flyers' excellence at its home facility and the team responded with a 6-1-1 record at Baujan Field in 2005.
He guided the Flyers to a six-game unbeaten streak in conference play, enabling UD to grab a tie for second in the conference. UD then rolled over Charlotte in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship, 3-1, before a 1-1 draw with Saint Louis that saw the Flyers eliminated on penalty kicks, 5-4. Four of Currier's Flyers earned All-Conference honors in the Atlantic 10 in 2005.
As head coach of Incarnate Word for four seasons, Currier's squads racked up a record of 62-15-7. His first team at UIW in 2001 was 12-8-1, and won the first of four straight conference championships. In 2002, Currier guided the team to a 16-1-3 record, a No. 12 national ranking and the school's first NCAA tournament bid.
In 2003, UIW was 16-2-2, returned to the NCAA tournament and was ranked 10th in the nation. In 2004 the team finished the season ranked fifth nationally with a record of 18-4-1 and a first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament's round of eight.
In addition to the four conference titles, Currier's teams were ranked No. 2 in the region three times. He guided Incarnate Word to a school-record 34-game regular-season unbeaten streak from 2001 to 2003. His teams had the highest grade point average in the conference two of his four seasons at UIW.
Currier has coached eight NSCAA All-Americans, four NSCAA Scholar All-Americans, three conference Players of the Year, a conference tournament Most Outstanding Player and he recruited three players who went on to be named conference Freshmen of the Year.
Before his stop at Incarnate Word, Currier coached for seven seasons at Harris-Stowe State College in Saint Louis, Mo., where he amassed a 126-34-5 record. Harris-Stowe was ranked nationally from 1996 to 2000, and advanced as far as the 2000 NAIA national semifinals. While at Harris-Stowe, Currier was named Regional Coach of the Year three times. He was inducted into the American Midwest Conference Hall of Fame as part of the 2021 Hall of Fame class for his time at Harris-Stowe.
Off the field, Currier and the Flyers are actively involved in the Miami Valley community. The Flyers mentor students in elementary school, give free soccer lessons and visit patients at children's hospitals.
Currier is a 1992 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. He and his wife Tonya are the parents of two daughters: Sydney and Morgan Elizabeth and a son, Camden.
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