DAYTON (OH) — Two first half goals and another score after halftime did all the damage as the Dayton Flyers played ball control with a decisive 3-0 victory over St. Bonaventure on a cold, wet, and rainy Friday evening at Baujan Field. UD improves to 11-4 (5-1), while the Bonnies fall to 5-10-1 (2-4).

The Flyers got off to a solid start after kickoff by controlling possession in the middle third of the field. Playing target forwards up top, Colleen Williams and Ashley Campbell gave the mids and defenders a pair of large bullseyes to play the ball forward and start the attack. Williams did most of her damage holding and distributing, while Campbell one-timed to others and looked for the jail-break ball over the top or wide on the flanks.

There was solid ball movement in the first 20 minutes, especially out of the back line. With Alison Klinefelter out of the lineup, the back trio of Meghan Scharer, Haley Keller, and Sarah Senoyuit worked as a unit to track down loose balls and win possession. Rather than boot aimless balls forward, they made it a point to work the ball on the ground with square balls and weak-side distribution. An occasional bad touch let them down and offered up a potential SBU counter-attack; by and large however the defense stepped up their play and became an integral part of the offense.

Freshman Nicole Waters and senior Alexis Garcia found space in the midfield to distribute balls up top. Communication and timing were off however and the first half yielded several offside calls — especially to balls in the direction of Juliana Libertin running marathon sprints up and down the touch lines.

Ball control and passing was solid until about 30 yards from goal. Once the field became more compact, so too did the Bonnie defense. To their credit, the Bonnies were a stubborn nut to crack at times. They saved several dangerous Flyer passes from slotting through their back line by catching a boot on the ball at the last second to snuff out the chance. The Flyers were so close at times, yet heartbroken when a great feed was tipped away at the last second by a timely Bonnie shoelace.

The persistent Flyer pressure eventually finds weaknesses however — or — capitalizes on mistakes. It took a half hour to find the back of the net but Dayton took the lead in the 31st minute on a high-class header by Campbell courtesy of a Libertin corner kick from the left side. Campbell’s re-direct tucked inside the upper far post from 10yds out to put the Flyers up 1-0.

Williams answered just one minute later on an equally stellar combination play from midfield. Campbell pushed a ball past the Bonnie back line to spring Libertin running loose. Her cross near the end line found Williams in front of the six yard line for the textbook one-timer to give Dayton a 2-0 advantage.

Dayton pressed diligently over the last 15 minutes of the first half to add a third goal, but passing or timing was off just enough to kill more excellent scoring opportunities. The Flyers caught a break when Libertin cleared a certain Bonnie goal off the line to protect the shutout.

Halftime stats favored Dayton in shots 16-4 while SBU out-cornered the Flyers 4-2.

The second half was more or less a repeat of the first 45 minutes. The Bonnies made up for a talent disadvantage with some good work ethic in the midfield to make the Flyers work for it however. When UD controlled the ball at their feet, they were able to dribble around defenders and open up space moving forward. UD played a lot of wide balls to Libertin and Alysha Mallon, while Williams and Campbell continued to use their strength to move the line of scrimmage in Dayton’s favor.

That’s what happened on Dayton’s third goal in the 56th minute when Campbell finished a chip in the box from close range to put the Flyers up 3-0 and round out the scoring. Mallon and Libertin were credited with assists — the latter her third of the night.

Dayton’s best run of play came in the first 80 yards of the field. The mids and strikers struggled to stay on the same page once UD encroached upon the goal box — but it wasn’t for a lack of trying or poor soccer IQ. The Bonnies played a high back line and that resulted in seven offside calls on the Flyers. At least two or three were razor close (but correct) calls that sprung the Flyers loose with only the goalkeeper to beat. UD thought they added a fourth goal in the last 20 minutes but the side judge called it back for being offside.

UD played a relatively short bench and salted the last 10 minutes away with little fanfare.

Overall, UD out-shot SBU 25-9 while corner kicks were five a piece. Williams took nine shots in the match and made life difficult for the Bonnie back line with 90 minutes of body blows. Nicole Waters played well in the midfield but was carried off with less than a minute remaining after taking a knock to her knee or ankle. The back line performed well and kept the defensive scares to a minimum. Campbell’s two goals gave her 10 goals on the season and also gave the Flyers three players with at least 10 goals in 2012 (Williams, Libertin). The Flyers were the only team in the country in 2011 with a trio of 10-goal scorers.

Bonnie goalkeeper Kathryn Kerkman did well in the net and finished with 11 saves. Based on the run of play, the match could have been a 4-1 or 5-1 score. She came up large on a few occasions to turn away shots or high crosses in the box.

Dayton takes on Duquesne Sunday afternoon at Baujan Field. Kickoff is 1pm.