LYNDHURST, Ohio – Four days after a 1-1 disappointment against Mount Vernon Nazarene, Notre Dame bounced back in American Mideast Conference play with an 8-0 victory over Point Park at Korb Field on Saturday morning. (Box)

Striker #Luke Holmes# scored a hat trick and midfielders #Kyle Hayes#, #Ash Young#, #Luke Jackson#, forward #Steven Kane# and defender #Dan Knight# scored a goal each against the Pioneers. Strikers #George Kephart#, #Simon Rumbold#, midfielders #Tom Mellor#, #Jack Fitzgerald#, #Jonathan Morris# and Jackson recorded an assist each.

The victory came four days after Notre Dame (11-2-2, 5-0-2 AMC) tied its second conference match against Mount Vernon. The Blue & White now look to gather an optimum of six points in their remaining two regular season games against AMC opponents Roberts Wesleyan (Oct. 27) and Daemen (Oct. 31).

"The boys played very well today. We worked hard and moved the ball nicely," said Notre Dame Head Coach #Michael McBride#. "We got through a difficult time with some of the boys not being completely healthy. With a fit team, we now look forward to taking on Roberts Wesleyan." 

Saturday's match, which had been moved to 11:00 a.m., was a welcome exhibition for Notre Dame. From the start, the Falcons dictated play and fired 15 shots on goal during the first half. The Blue & White outshot Point Park, 29-4, in the first period. But thanks to Pioneer goalie Zeke O'Donnell, who recorded a dozen saves in the first 45 minutes, Notre Dame was held to only three goals at the break.

Hayes scored the first of these goals in the 13th minute when he struck the ball into the bottom left corner from ten yards out. It was his first net finder of the season.

Five minutes later, Young finished off a nice combination between Fitzgerald and Kephart for the 2-0 lead. The goal was Young's fifth of the season.

Holmes added a third before the break when he picked up a pass by Mellor to once again smash it into the bottom left of the Pioneer goal in the 23rd.

A minute earlier, the Pioneers had their only dangerous opportunity when junior defender Julian Trustedt tried NDC goalie #Alex Klein# with a free kick from 30 yards. But Klein, who made two saves during the full 90 minutes, blocked his shot.

Holmes opened the second half scoring with a beautiful lob over O'Donnell after Fitzgerald had set him up in the 54th minute. Ten minutes later he completed his third hat trick of the season when he converted a cross by Morris from short distance. The goal was his 24th of the season and 41st overall for Notre Dame.

In the 68th minute, Kane scored his seventh of the season beating O'Donnell with an individual effort from ten yards to extend the Falcon lead to 6-0.

Knight added a seventh in the 81st with a header under the crossbar. Jackson had delivered the cross. It was Knight's second goal of the season.

With five minutes left in the game, Jackson scored the final net finder, picking up a pass by Rumbold and striking into the bottom corner from 20 yards out.

The Falcons missed several other scoring opportunities over the course of the match. But Pioneer goalie O'Donnell made a total of 20 saves to keep Notre Dame from scoring in the double digits.

The Blue & White will next take on Roberts Wesleyan for the third straight home game on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 4:00 p.m.


NOTES FROM THE NEST ...

PLEASANT PIONEERS: Point Park has been a welcome opponent to the Falcons over the years. Notre Dame's all-time record against Point Park is 8-1. In those nine matches, the Blue & White outscored the Pioneers, 48-8. The Falcons' only loss came in their first ever matchup on Oct. 30, 2001, when the Pioneers prevailed, 4-3.

FIVE A GAME: Notre Dame is on its way to the highest scoring season in program history. In their 15 matches this year, the Falcons have scored a combined 75 goals so far. They are just five goals shy of beating their 2002 record of 79 goals. Going into Saturday's match, the Blue & White ranked second in the nation for goals per game. They have scored an average of five net finders per match. Their all-time season record of goals scored per game is 3.76, also in 2002.

FLEET-FOOTED STRIKER: Much of Notre Dame's firepower can be attributed to the Falcons' fleet-footed goal machine Luke Holmes. The forward leads the NAIA with 1.6 goals per game. No other striker has scored more than the Englishman, who found the back of the net 24 times this year. His two dozen goals on the season rank fourth in NDC program history behind Jeremy Kephart (34 in 2002, 30 in 2001) and Frank Jonke (25 in 2004). 

A KNIGHT'S DEFENSE: The Falcons' defense around sophomore Dan Knight has picked up where it left off last season. So far Notre Dame has conceded an average of 0.93 goals per match. That is their third best value on record. In 2008, the Blue & White conceded only 0.84 goals per game, their best defensive effort in program history. Knight's importance for the Falcon defense is reflected in his minutes on the field. In 2008, he logged a record 1268 minutes. This year, he has also started in all 15 matches.