Box Score
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Coming into Sunday afternoon, the Notre Dame College men's soccer team had not defeated the Mountain East Conference rival Charleston Golden Eagles in over three years, dating back to a 3-1 win over UC on Sept. 18, 2013. On Sunday at Mueller Field, the Falcons snapped their eight-game skid against the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II men's soccer, defeating the visiting Golden Eagles by a decisive score of 5-3.
The Falcons (4-3 overall, 4-1 Mountain East) established control of the game early in the match, using a 4th minute goal from
Arthur Favero, assisted by
Leonardo Paiva, to give NDC the early 1-0 lead.
As the first half progressed, the Falcons remained in control until a 20th minute goal from UC's Will Roberts tied the score at 1-1.
The tie score, however, didn't last long.
After assisting Favero on the Falcons' first goal of the game, Paiva joined in on the scoring frenzy with a goal of his own. The Falcons' leading scorer knocked in a 30th minute goal off a rebound from a free kick, and Favero returned the favor with the assist on the play, giving NDC a 2-1 lead over UC.
Ten minutes later, Paiva and Favero were back at it once again.
In the 40th minute, Favero crossed a free kick into the box and Paiva scored a header goal for the Falcons, increasing NDC's lead to 3-1. The goal was Paiva's second of the day, and team-high 12th of the season in just seven games played.
But the Falcons weren't done there.
Less than one minute after Paiva scored, NDC added another goal off the foot of
Guilherme Gloria Albuquerque. The goal from Albuquerque was his first of the season, and gave the Falcons a 4-1 lead at the halftime intermission.
The scoring continued for the Falcons in the second half, and again it was Favero involved in the scoring. Favero scored his second goal of the game in the 56th minute, chipping in an empty-netter from 15 yards out to extend NDC's lead to 5-1 over Charleston.
Charleston upped its aggressiveness on offense, but the Falcons defense weathered the storm. The Golden Eagles added a pair of late goals, scoring one in the 73rd minute and another in the 89th, but it was too-little, too-late as NDC held on for the 5-3 win.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 4-3 on the season, including a 4-1 mark in MEC play.
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Oct. 1 at home against the visiting Concord Mountain Lions in another MEC showdown. Game time is scheduled for 1 pm at Mueller Field.
