COLUMBUS, Ohio – Playing in a win-or-go-home situation is always hard on one of the teams. Unfortunately, Notre Dame was that team on Friday as the Falcons fell to Roberts Wesleyan, 1-0, in an American Mideast Conference (AMC) Tournament semifinal played at Panther Field on the campus of Ohio Dominican University. The loss ends NDC's season with a final record of 11-5-1. The Raiders (14-5-1) move on to Saturday's championship game.
NDC struggled all game to mount any kind of attack. The RWC defense stymied the Falcon offense all night, allowing only two Falcon shots on goal from sophomore forward Ashley Rucker (Rocky River, Ohio) and freshman midfielder Anic McKay (Orleans, Ont.). The Notre Dame defense was also strong, giving up only five shots on goal. However, one of those five shots found the back of the net to propel the Raiders into tomorrow's final.
Roberts Wesleyan junior forward Laura Willit (Spencerport, N.Y.) found herself inside the six-yard box as a cross came in off the foot of freshman midfielder Kelsey Medeiros (New Bedford, Mass.) in the 77th minute. Willit finished the pass at the near post for her AMC-leading 19th goal of the season.
Despite the 0-0 tie at the half, the Raiders controlled most of the action in the opening stanza, outshooting the Falcons, 5-1. NDC picked up the action in the second half, only being outshot, 5-4, for the half, but were unable to find an equalizer.
Sophomore goalkeeper Emilie Lamarche (Rockland, Ont.) made four saves in goal for Notre Dame. Her counterpart in goal from RWC, sophomore goalkeeper Elizabeth Kennedy (Ortonville, Mich.) had two saves to preserve the shutout.
“We are obviously disappointed in how this season ended,” said head coach Mike Shiels. “However, this doesn't take away from the success we did have this year. My hat goes off to our three seniors who have given everything they had to this program. We will definitely miss them.”
Forward Natalie Bernot (Mentor, Ohio), midfielder Jessica Skoien (Rowland Heights, Calif.), and midfielder Nikki Tizzano (Mentor, Ohio) all played their final game in the Blue and White on Friday.
NOTES FROM THE NEST...
FAMILIAR TOURNAMENT FOES: Tonight's contest was the third year in a row the Falcons and Raiders have faced off in the AMC Tournament. NDC had won the previous two meetings. … Tonight's win was RWC's seventh in a row, and they have now outscored their opponents, 15-2, in that stretch. … Roberts Wesleyan now holds a 7-3 edge in all-time meetings between the two programs.
SENIOR LEADERS: Bernot, Skoien, and Tizzano leave the program having led the program to a record of 24-9-3 the last two seasons. … Bernot is a two-time member of the All-AMC Second Team (2007, 2008). … Skoien has been an All-AMC selection all four years at NDC. She has been a Second Team selection (2005, 2006), an Honorable Mention selection (2007), and this season, was voted onto the Third Team. … Tizzano has been a First Team selection the last two years (2007, 2008).
