BALTIMORE – Phil Bannister assisted on all four Loyola (MD) goals as the Greyhounds defeated Niagara, 4-0, on a cold, rainy Friday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field.

The Greyhounds scored all four of their goals in a 15-minute, 33-second stretch that spanned both halves.

Bannister’s four assists are tied for the NCAA Division I single-game high this season, matching the number Akron’s Michael Nanchoff put up against Bowling Green on September 26. They are also the most by a Loyola player during Head Coach Mark Mettrick’s 10 years at the school.

“This was a good effort by us. We did a nice job of creating offensive chances, and finishing them when we had them,” Mettrick said.

Danny Ankrah put Loyola (5-6-1 overall, 2-0-0 MAAC) on the board in the 33rd minute with a shot from the top of the 18-yard box. Eddie Dines brought a ball out of traffic on the right side and slid a pass to Bannister on the left.

Bannister then touched a pass to Ankrah at the top of the box where the junior midfielder finished for his first goal of the year.

Less than four minutes later, Bannister slipped pass to Jamie Darvill at the top right corner of the box. Darvill chipped a shot over Niagara goalkeeper John Fiutowski from 15 yards out to put Loyola ahead, 2-0.

Davill struck again just over six minutes later when Bannister played a ball down the center of the field past the Purple Eagles defense. Darvill ran on to the ball and dribbled left around Fiutowski. His shot was headed for the back left corner of the goal before it was tapped in to the right side by a Niagara defender.

Almost four minutes into the second half, Dines scored his first goal of the season. Bannister headed a ball down at the top of the box, and Dines sent a low, rolling shot into the left side of the goal.

Before Ankrah’s goal, Loyola had three chances that nearly resulted in goals. Bannister flicked a header inside the six just over the crossbar in the fifth minute, and Darvill had a shot go just right in the 11th. After a yellow card Nick Lippa for a foul in the box, Darvill then had a penalty kick opportunity in the 15th minute that Fiutowski saved.

Niagara’s best first-half chance came when Carl Haworth drove a waist-high shot that would have been on goal but was knocked down inadvertently by a Purple Eagles teammate.

In the second half, the Purple Eagles (4-7-1, 2-1-0) put three-straight shots on goal over a 10-minute stretch, but Kyle Wittman made saves on each to deny the opportunities.

Wittman finished with three saves for his fifth clean sheet of the season, his second in as many MAAC games.

The Greyhounds return to action on Sunday, October 18, when they host Canisius (3-8-1, 2-1-0) at 1 p.m. The Golden Griffins were 3-1 winners over Rider today.