MOUNT VERNON, Ohio—The Notre Dame Women's Soccer fell to Spring Arbor (Mich.) 1-0 on in a rain-soaked overtime match on Saturday at the Cougar Classic hosted by Mount Vernon Nazarene. The loss evens the Falcons' record at 2-2 while Spring Arbor improves to 5-3 on the season.
Both teams battled to a scoreless regulation with Spring Arbor outshooting the Falcons 20-5 in two halves. NDC scrapped only two shots in the opening half alone. Despite the shooting barrage from the Cougars, NDC was able to hold out and challenge for a full 90 minutes. Emilie Lamarche (So/Rockland, Ont.) turned away six shots on goal in regulation.
Just over five minutes into the overtime stanza, Taylor George (Fr/Flushing, Mich.) dribbled up the side, past her defender and shot past Lamarche for the overtime Cougar win.
“Overall, we played well,” said head coach Mike Shiels, “Obviously not the outcome we wanted but there were some huge changes in momentum today and we just couldn't make the adjustment.”
Offensively, NDC was lead by Jessica Mazzorato (Jr/London, Ont.) who finished with two shots. On the day, the Cougars outshot NDC 34-5. The Falcons were held scoreless in overtime.
Christina Riske (So/Flushing, Mich.) and Samantha Suter (Fr/Brighton, Mich.) split time in the goal making one save apiece.
Notre Dame hits the pitch again on Tuesday, Sept. 16 for the 2008 home opener when they host Houghton (N.Y.) in American Mideast Conference (AMC) play. The game is slated for a 4:00pm kick-off.
NOTES FROM THE NEST…
GOOD GOING, GOALIE: In goal this season, Emilie Lamarche boasts a .885 save percentage over four games. Despite the 2-2 record, Lamarche's opponents average an overall save percentage of .862 and only one shutout. In both of NDC's wins in 2008, Lamarche helped out with shutouts in each.
OPEN SEASON: On Tuesday, the Falcons host Houghton in their AMC home opener. Last year, NDC finished 13-4-2 overall and 6-1 in the AMC-North Division behind the first-place Highlanders. The Falcons have been winless over Houghton since the inception of Notre Dame Women's Soccer in 1995.
