PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle men's soccer team, which concluded the nonconference schedule with a thrilling 2-1 last-second win over regionally 10th-ranked UMBC last Tuesday, looks to build off of that as the Explorers open Atlantic 10 play at Dayton on Friday evening.

The Explorers (2-6-1) struck first against the Retrievers when Jason Plumhoff (Ellicott City, Md./River Hill) found the back of the net in the 64th minute for his team-leading third tally of the season. An 87th minute Retriever goal knotted the score at one apiece, but freshman Rob Friskey (King of Prussia, Pa./Penn Charter) prevented overtime with the winning punch just seconds before the end of regulation.

The team went into a 10-day break on the high from the UMBC win and now turn their sights to the Atlantic 10 schedule, looking to make another run like they did last season. The A-10 season starts in Ohio, with the Explorers at Dayton tonight at 7:00 PM and then at Xavier on Sunday at 1:00 PM in a rematch of the 2010 championship title game.

Dayton suffered through a tough nonconference season as well, coming into tonight's game with a 1-9 record. Victor Duru leads with five points on two goals and an assist.

La Salle and Dayton met in the final game of the regular season last year, with the Explorers taking a 1-0 win to clinch to No. 2 seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship.

Xavier finished its nonconference season with a 6-1-1 record and a No. 23 national ranking by the NSCAA. The Musketeers, the first six-seed to win the A-10 tournament last year, are led by Luke Spencer with 10 points on four goals and two assists. Eleven other Musketeers have at least one point.

La Salle topped Xavier 3-0 on Ryan Richter's hat trick in the final weekend of the regular season last year to clinch a spot in the tournament, but it was Xavier that won 2-0 when the teams met again a week later in the A-10 title game.

Follow the Explorers!
Friday (10/7) at Dayton
Dayton, Ohio | 7:00 PM
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

Sunday (10/9) at Xavier
Cincinnati, Ohio | 1:00 PM
Live Stats | Live Video

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