FRESNO, Calif. -- Notre Dame's run at the NAIA National Tournament has ended. The Falcons fell to The Master's College, 3-1, in the quarterfinals at Ramirez Field on Wednesday afternoon.  (Box)

Defender #Jacob Sheppard#'s equalizer in the 62nd minute wasn't enough as the Blue & White were outplayed for most of the match. Mustang forward Marcelo Silva scored the game winning goals in the 76th and 90th minutes. Defender Tyler Salvey had scored the lead in the 57th. Seconds before Silva scored the final goal, NDC midfielder #Tom Mellor# narrowly missed with a strike from 20 yards that Mustang goalie Kevin Lawson was just able to push over the crossbar for a corner.

In a first half poor in highlights, Master's outplayed the Falcons who were busy fending off the Mustangs' repeated attacks. The Californians outshot Notre Dame, 8-1, in that first period. But the solid Blue & White defense around captain #Dan Knight# managed to allow only three shots on goal and keep a clean sheet.

Sophomore midfielder #Christian Earnest# took Notre Dame's only shot in the first half. His 20-yarder went well above the crossbar in the 26th minute.

The Mustangs missed the lead narrowly several times. Defender Brian Gardner's shot from distance went just wide in the eighth minute. Midfielder Doug Armstrong came even closer in the 16th, but NDC keeper #Craig Pickering# blocked his 25-yard shot for a corner kick. Defender Matthew Cox with a header in the 30th and midfielder Guilherme Mitrovic with a shot in the 41st also failed to beat the goalie.

In the final minutes of the first half, Notre Dame managed to free itself from the continuous Mustang pressure. Mellor narrowly missed with a free kick that intended for delivery sailed through the penalty area just past the left post in the 42nd.

In the final seconds, striker #Luke Holmes# put a nice through ball to midfielder #Johnny Stripe# who crossed it into the box where striker #Christian Earnest# converted for what would have been a surprise lead. But Stripe had been in offside position and the play was denied.

After the break, Notre Dame took more initiative. Forward #George Kephart# took the first two shots in the 49th and 54th minutes. A minute later, Master's forward Jon Roberts set up midfielder David Alegria with a nice flick off his heel, but Alegria's shot went wide.

In the 57th minute, however, the Mustangs took the lead when Salvey caught Pickering off guard, receiving a throw-in pass and spinning around to find the net from 40 yards out. It was Salvey's first goal of the season.

Unimpressed by that goal, Notre Dame retaliated only five minutes later. After a #Jonathan Morris# free kick, Sheppard jumped higher than anybody else in the penalty area, including Mustang goalie Lawson, to head in the equalizer.

Notre Dame now took more initiative, looked confident and moved the ball well. But despite some good scoring attempts, they suffered yet another setback in the 76th minute.

On a breakaway, Mitrovic threaded a nice pass through the Falcons' defensive line. It was picked up by Silva who took off to put it into the bottom left corner for the 2-1 lead.

The Blue & White now fought hard to force a second equalizer. But they weren't able to create any significant opportunities until the 90th minute, when Mellor took a gamble to fire a volley at Lawson. The keeper stretched as far as he could to put the leather over the crossbar for a corner.

With five seconds left in the match, Silva finished off yet another counterattack for the final goal of the night. Overall, his team outshot Notre Dame, 13-9, putting seven shots on goal compared to the Falcons' three.


NOTES FROM THE NEST…

SUCCESSFUL SEASON: Despite the loss against Master's, Notre Dame can look back at the most successful season in program history. For the second time, Head Coach #Michael McBride#'s team finished among the Elite Eight at the NAIA National Tournament. (They also accomplished this feat in 2005.) The Falcons (16-4-2) defended the American Mideast Conference Tournament title this year, and had their highest-scoring season in program history with 95 goals in total. Sophomore striker Luke Holmes was voted the 2009 AMC Player of the Year. He scored 29 goals in 22 matches this season. No other player in the NAIA found the back of the net more often.