BRONX, N.Y. - The top-seeded Rhode Island Rams repeated as the Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Champions, defeating third-seeded Dayton Flyers, 1-0, at Fordham's Jack Coffey Field on Sunday. With the victory, the Rams (14-3-3) earn the A-10's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Rams broke through in the 51st minute when Ludvik Benco sent a deep ball to a streaking Edvin Akselsen down the right side of the field. Akselsen collected the pass and made a move around a Dayton defender to send a shot into the far corner of the net past a diving Federico Barrios in goal. It was the redshirt-sophomore's fourth goal of the season.

Benco, the Championship Most Outstanding Player, dominated the midfield for the Rams throughout the tournament, tallied his third assist on the season, and also converted a penalty kick during the shootout against Fordham in the semifinals.

Also honored on the All-Championship team were Fordham's goalie Konstantin Weis, George Mason's Grant Robinson and VCU's Ryo Shimazaki. From Dayton, goalkeeper Federico Barrios was joined by teammates Elias Harryson, Jonas Fjeldberg, and Kingsford Adjei. From the Rams, Stefan Schmidt, Peder Kristiansen and Edvin Akselsen made the team.

Dayton's best scoring chance also came in the first half when Jake Feiner sent a pass into the box to Jacob Degler. The ball, headed into net by a Rhode Island defender, was called back as the referee ruled that the ball crossed the endline.

The Rams edged the Flyers 13 shots to 12, while Rhode Island outpaced UD on corners, 8-3. 

The last time the Rams and the Flyers met in the A-10 Championship final was in 2000 where URI defeated Dayton, 5-1. A-10 Coach of the Year, Gareth Elliott, then a junior for the Rhody squad, was named the Championship's Most Outstanding Player.

The Flyers finish their season with an overall record of 13-8; the 13 wins tied for the third-most in program history.

The Rams will learn their fate in the NCAA field Monday at 1:00 pm on NCAA.com.