URBANA, Ohio – One week after Notre Dame dropped its first two points in conference play, the Falcons bounced back from that disappointment with a 5-0 rout of the Urbana Blue Knights on Saturday afternoon. (Box)

Striker #Luke Holmes# (2), midfielders #Tom Mellor#, #Jack Fitzgerald# and #Erik Beattie# scored the goals in a non-conference match that was dominated by the Blue & White. Midfielder #Jonathan Morris# and striker #Steven Kane# had one assist each.

Keepers #Craig Pickering# and #Alex Klein# combined for seven saves as No. 4 Notre Dame pitched its fourth shutout of the season and remained unbeaten (5-0-1) in the last six matches.

Celebrating their ninth victory of the season, the Falcons (9-1-1, 3-0-1 AMC) seemingly shot away their frustrations over the 2-2 tie against Cedarville on Saturday, Oct. 3. That result had marked the Falcons' first loss of American Mideast Conference points in nearly three years.

With the win over Urbana, the Blue & White hope to be back on victory lane for the remaining six regular season games, five of which are conference matches.

In a game during which Notre Dame outshot Urbana, 25-10, midfielder #Ash Young# had the first good opportunity when his shot hit the post in the 6th minute. Striker #Christian Earnest# in the 7th minute, defender #Brody Ponder# in the 14th and Mellor in the 18th also came close to scoring the opening goal, but Urbana goalie Huw Howell-Pryce saved their attempts.

In a scene that could have turned the match on its head, Blue Knight forward Hayden Brown nearly missed the lead for the hosts when his shot struck the upright in the 29th minute.

Instead, Notre Dame took the lead in the 34th when Holmes picked up a pass by Morris to beat Howell-Pryce with a shot in the bottom left corner.

Only two minutes later, Mellor fired an indefensible 30 yarder that smashed into the top right corner of the Blue Knights' goal for the 2-0 Falcon lead. It was the freshman's sixth goal of the season.

Eleven minutes into the second half, Fitzgerald added another goal when scored his second of the season after an off set play after a corner kick.

In the 65th minute, Klein replaced Pickering in Falcon goal and immediately distinguished himself with two saves.

Holmes tallied his second goal of the afternoon when he converted a penalty kick in the 70th to extend Notre Dame's lead to 4-0. The goal was his 18th of the season, and his 35th in 31 games for the Falcons overall.

A minute later, Fitzgerald just missed his second goal of the afternoon when his header hit the post. Instead, it was up to Beattie to score the final goal of the match. He converted a cross by Kane for his first goal of the season in the 82nd.

“This is a very good result on the road for us. Now we must prepare for a tough conference game against Malone,” said Associate Head Coach #Carl Nolan#. His team will take on the Pioneers at Korb Field in Lyndhurst on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 7:00 p.m.


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

FRESHMEN FORCE: One of reasons for the Blue & White's success this year is their freshmen firepower. On Saturday, five freshmen started against Urbana, and with Tom Mellor and Erik Beattie, two Notre Dame newcomers scored a goal against the Blue Knights. This season, four Falcon rookies, including Brody Ponder and Ashley Young, have scored a combined 11 times. The freshmen account for more than one fifth of all 52 Falcon net finders this season.

JOUSTING THE BLUE KNIGHTS: With Saturday's victory, the Falcons remain undefeated against the Blue Knights. Notre Dame has won three of its four matches against Urbana. The only tie took place on Aug. 30, 2004 when the Falcons blew a 3-0 halftime lead to concede three goals of their own after the break. The Blue Knights who compete in the NCAA Division II are having a tough season as they post a 2-8-1 record.