DAYTON (OH) — Three second-half goals blew the game wide open and paced the #19 Dayton Flyers to a 4-1 victory over Loyola-Chicago Friday evening in the nightcap of a soccer doubleheader at Baujan Field. Now 8-0-0, UD is one of just two programs sporting a perfect record in D-I (Maryland-Baltimore County is the other — they won in 2OT tonight vs GW). Loyola falls to 3-4-0.

Compared to the last outing against IUPUI, the Flyers showcased a more substantial effort in all phases on Friday, which came as perfect timing considering the Ramblers were somewhat pesky and persistent over 90 minutes of soccer.

The first 15 minutes of play were back and forth with each team taking turns pushing the ball up field and probing the defense for a weakness to exploit. It was a relatively wide-open game in the midfield, allowing players for each side to turn and dribble with meaningful possession out of the center circle towards the goal box. Amass Amankona did well for Dayton, winning balls in the midfield and dumping feeder passes to teammates pushing forward into open space. Overlaps from the touch lines also loosened up the Loyola defense, giving Dayton a chance to create a numbers advantage pushing forward.

While the Flyers strung together more passes, Loyola had some chances of their own to counter with quick strikes and catch the UD back line napping. To UD’s credit, the back line was solid all evening — especially in the first half when the match was still up for grabs. They tracked balls well, clipped angles, and finished most plays with quality clears to the flanks.

Persistent pressure and, once again, a noticeable size advantage proved beneficial as UD chipped away until something cracked. The first crack occurred in the 20th minute when Greg Enstone carried the ball across the face of the goal mouth, shook off a couple defenders, and finished with a perfect shot to the lower near post to give Dayton the 1-0 lead.

Used to playing with the lead, the Flyers were once again in a familiar place. Loyola never looked completely overwhelmed however and continued to force UD to play honest soccer over the remaining 25 minutes of the half. The run of play went back and forth as both sides has chances to score. The Ramblers lacked the size to win most aerial battles inside the Flyer box, choosing instead to find a crease to exploit by getting beyond the last Dayton defender. That usually didn’t happen however and their best scoring chances actually came on typical slop found inside the mixer.

First half shots favored UD 9-4 as well as corner kicks (2-1).

Nursing a one-goal lead at the half, the next score would change the tenor of the match — opening things up completely and putting the Flyers in firm command, or evening the match at 1-1 and testing Dayton’s ability to push aside an opponent with thoughts of an upset.

Good news: Dayton scored first to start the final 45 minutes and fans didn’t have to wait long to enjoy it. Goalkeeper Chris Froschauer booted a goal kick towards the Loyola box, a ball that squirted through a bevy of players without being touched. Amankona timed the play well and ran through the ball, and the defense, for an in-stride deflection to the far post for the 2-0 lead.

Loyola’s unspectacular but consistent pressure trimmed the deficit to 2-1 in the 66th minute, helped in part a poorly-defended ball on the left side that allowed a cross in the box from the baseline. Froschauer challenged the ball directly in front of the near post, but couldn’t overcome the scrum nor a timely Loyola redirect. Froschauer did the best he could under the circumstances.

With the match once again up for grabs, the Flyers needed a response to restore some much-needed cushion and protect the perfect record. Amankona got his second goal of the night in the 75th minute when forward Maik Schoonderwoerd challenged a back-pass to the Loyola goalkeeper, earning a deflection that popped up in the offensive third of the field. Amankona received the ball, slotted a shot from the middle of the box, and made the score 3-1. Once again, UD was in the driver’s seat.

Dayton added a fourth goal in the 79th minute when Abe Keller crossed the face of the goal mouth, took a couple touches, and finished things off from 18 yards out to make it 4-1 and round out the scoring. It was a goal similar to Enstone’s first Flyer goal of the match.

Overall, UD out-shot Loyola 23-14, including 11-8 on frame. Corner kicks favored Loyola 6-4.

The Flyers remain perfect and put forth a quality effort Friday evening in most phases — including the all-important hustle department. Amankona took advantage of not being matched up with a big physical midfielder and did well to distribute the ball to teammates. Offensively, Ryan Peterson, Schoonderwoerd, Keller, and Andres Acevedo formed a nice pair of tandem rotations that kept fresh bodies up top to run at players and chase balls.

Defensively, UD was clean for the most part. Clears were solid, help defense was consistent, and distribution from the back line was well done. Froschauer fed his outside backs very well to work possession out of the defense as often as opportunities allowed.

It wasn’t a perfect match and no one will accuse Loyola of being an NCAA at-large contender, but UD did what they needed to do to stay unbeaten and untied heading into the October schedule. Whether the Flyers are a legitimate nationally-ranked team is still up for debate in light of the relatively soft schedule, but Dennis Currier’s squad has faced eight opponents and dispatched them all. In D-I men’s soccer, that’s not easy.

Dayton entertains Valparaiso on Monday evening at Baujan Field.