MOUNT VERNON, Ohio—The Notre Dame Women's Soccer team defeated tournament host Mount Vernon Nazarene 2-0 in the opening day of the Cougar Classic on Friday. The win marks the second out of three games for the Falcons this season while the Cougars fall to 1-4. The contest opens the American Mideast Conference (AMC) play for the 2008 season.
With the constant drizzle creating less-than-perfect field conditions, Notre Dame had to battle through 27 minutes before notching their first goal of the game. Anic McKay (Fr/Orleans, Ont.) got her first collegiate goal as she was able to execute a lobbed shot over Mount Vernon's Jenessa Loewen (So/Gravenhurst, Ont.) into the empty goal.
In the second half, NDC was awarded a penalty kick after a Mount Vernon foul inside the box around the 50-minute mark. Nikki Tizzano (Sr/Mentor, Ohio) earned the second and final goal for the Falcons to round out the scoring.
“This was a pretty even game,” said head coach Mike Shiels, “But I think we were able to create a lot of chances and capitalize on them.”
Emilie Lamarche (So/Rockland, Ont.) earned the win for NDC making two saves on 11 Cougar shots. Loewen turned away six shots on goal of NDC's 11.
Notre Dame closes out the weekend when they play Spring Arbor (Mich.) at 1:00pm on Saturday.
NOTES FROM THE NEST...
SHUT 'EM DOWN: In the Falcons' first three matches, they've tallied two shutouts. On 9/6 Notre Dame defeated St. Xavier (Ill.) 1-0 and Friday's 2-0 win over Mount Vernon accounts for the second scoreless game for the Falcons' opponent. Last year the Falcons amassed ten shutouts on the season, including a 1-0 victory in the AMC-qualifying round win over Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.).
ON THE TURNING AWAY: Goalie Emilie Lamarche has been the rightful owner of all twelve Falcon shutouts in the last two seasons. The Ontario native tallied her fourteenth career win with the 2-0 victory over Mount Vernon. In 22 total games, the sophomore has compiled an early career record of 15-5-2 at the net minder for the Falcons.
RECEIVING LINE: In the latest National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Women's Soccer poll, the Notre Dame Women's Soccer team picked up votes for the first time in program history. Last year, NDC finished with an overall record of 13-4-2 (6-1, AMC-N) and fell to the Cougars 4-1 in the NAIA Regional Tournament in the best season in the NDC Women's Soccer record books.
