ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Second-ranked and fourth seeded, Notre Dame faces 11th-ranked Vanguard (Calif.), in the Second Round 2010 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship. The Blue and White are set to play their ninth National Championship match, while the Lions are set to play in just their second NAIA National Tournament match, Monday Nov. 29, at 8:30 p.m. EST. (Live Audio) (Live Stats)

The 52nd annual NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship final site event will begin on Nov. 29 with four matches from Orange Beach, Ala. Sixteen teams will compete in the single-elimination tournament from the Orange Beach Sportsplex. The second round concludes on Nov. 30, followed by quarterfinal matches on Dec. 1, the semifinal round on Dec. 3 and the National Championship final on Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. EST.

Home field advantage did not hold true for the most part through the Opening Round. Defending national champion Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and second seeded Simon Fraser (B.C.) were just two of the seven seeded teams to fall on their home turf. Since the Opening Round format began in 2008, hosts have combined for a 29-12-4 record all-time.

Live audio will be provided for the NAIA Second Round on NotreDameFalcons.com from Orange Beach Sportsplex, pregame show and Men's Soccer Coaches Corner to start approximately 30 minutes prior to the 8:30 p.m. EST. kickoff. 


THE PREVIEW….

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: NDC has played three matches against teams in the NCAA-II and NAIA Top 25 with a 3-0-0 record. The Blue and White have outscored ranked opponents 16-3 this season. VU has played five contests against ranked opponents with a 3-1-1 mark. The Lions loan draw against No. 6 CS Dominguez Hills, Sept. 4, later was recorded as a forfeit. Their three wins all came against Golden State Athletic Conference Opponent Azusa Pacific. Vanguard outscored their ranked opponents 13-5.

OVERTIME: The Falcons have played two overtime matches with a 2-0-0 record; the Lions have played two overtime matches with a 1-0-1record this season. Their 1-1 draw against No. 6 CS Dominguez Hills, Sept. 4, later was recorded as a forfeit.

OH SO CLOSE: Notre Dame is 5-0-0 in one goal games while Vanguard was 8-1-0 before their Sept. 6, win 3-2 over La Sierra was recorded as a forfeit.

BIG DIFFERENCE: In games with at least a three goal difference, NDC is 14-0-0 and VU was 7-0-0 until their Sept. 15, Chapman (Calif.), 3-0 win and Sept. 22, Soka U. of America, 10-1 win were both recorded as losses. 


A LOOK AT VANGUARD – The Lions (14-7-0) are making their first appearance in the NAIA National Tournament despite forfeiting the first six games of the 2010 season, sacrificing results which equaled a 5-0-1 start by the Lions.

The forfeits came as a result of an ejection during the last game of the 2009 season and soccer rule 12.12.1. The sport-specific rule states that any game in which a suspended player or coach participates in illegally shall be forfeited to the opposing team. According to the rule, because Head Coach Randy Dodge received a red card in the last game of the 2009 season, he should have been suspended from Vanguard University's first match of the 2010 season, against CSU San Marcos on August 31st. However, due to an oversight, he did not serve the suspension until September 25th, at Azusa Pacific University. The punishment resulted in the Lions dropping from 5th to 14th in the Oct. 12, NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll, however it did not affect their GSAC standing.

The Lions earned their place in the 52nd NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship with their first outright GSAC Championship and first GSAC Tournament Championship. Vanguard advanced to the NAIA Second Round, coming back from a 1-0 deficit with two late goals, including Kevin Cornwall's golden goal, the Lions captured a 2-1 overtime victory over No. 16 Azusa Pacific 2-1 for their third consecutive win over the Cougars in 2010.

Vanguard's Kevin Cornwall, a sophomore forward from Dublin, Ireland, earned the GSAC Player of the Year while playing in 20 of VU's 21 matches; scoring a team high 16 goals and three assists. The 6-1 forward provided eight of the Lions 14 game winning goals.

Geographic Roster: 

California: (19) – Cody Adams, Trevor Herrera, Marvin Devia, Landon Herrera, Andrew Casco, Victor Tapia, Ryan Kenney, Bryan Ponce, Jeremy Hampton, Scott Roquemore, Billy Pellow, Kyle O'Brien, Tully Wilkinson, Alex Lopez, Brian Siemonsma, Eduardo Guillen, Adam Holstein, Nikola Ilich, Josh Banta 

Serbia: (2) – Tomislav Colic, Mario Merdzic, 

Arizona: (1) – Timothy Goebel 

England: (1) – Jack Plummer 

Ireland: (1) – Kevin Cornwall


THE VANGUARD SERIES – The Falcons and Lions are meeting for the first time. 


A LOOK AT NOTRE DAME – The Falcons (20-0-0) are making their third consecutive NAIA National Tournament and fourth all-time, with a 5-2-1 record in the tournament.

The Falcons earned their place in the 52nd NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship with their third consecutive American Mideast Conference Tournament Championship. NDC advanced to the NAIA Second Round, erupting for a 5-0 victory over Davenport (Mich.). The result was the largest margin of victory in the Opening Round.

Notre Dame remains one of only four undefeated teams in the country, along with No. 1 Rio Grande, No. 3 Hastings (Neb.), and No. 6 Main-Fort Kent. No. 2, Notre Dame is 20-0-0, outscoring their opponents 86-9, ranking third in the NAIA with 4.30 goals scored per game and fifth with .45 goals against per game.

Tied for the fourth longest active streak of being consecutively ranked in the NAIA Top 25 with 31 consecutive weeks, the Falcons have dominated opponents while rewriting the record books, with school best's in, wins to open a season (20), winning streak (20), consecutive shouts (7) and shutouts in a season (13), most wins in regular season (17), fewest regular season goals allowed (6), first perfect regular season 17-0-0, and most wins in a season (20).

NDC Men's Soccer has a 138-51-15 record through the 2010 season; their .713 winning percentage is the highest among Notre Dame's 23 athletic programs. The Falcons are tough to beat at neutral sites, Coach Mac holds a 18-10-5 record (.651), including 4-0-0 in 2010.

AGAINST THE FIELD – The Blue and White are 8-7-2 all-time against the field of 31. Against the remaining 16 teams, Notre Dame is 4-7-2. Rio Grande (Ohio) holds the only winning record against NDC. The Falcons are 1-6-1 against the Red Storm and 3-1-1 when facing Mobile (Ala.), Main-Fort Kent, and Hastings (Neb.).

#Luke Holmes#, a junior midfielder from Oldham, England, earned his second consecutive AMC Player of the Year while playing 20 matches; he ranks first all-time in goals (65), and points (153), second in assists (23) and 10th in matches started (60). 

#Tom Mellor#, a sophomore midfielder from Shaw, England, earned his second consecutive First Team All-AMC while playing 20 matches; he ranks third in the NAIA in assists (17) and holds the NDC record for assists (28), fourth in points (58), and eighth in goals (15) in just 41 matches.

#Steven Kane#, a senior from Jeromesville, Ohio, has scored multiple goals in six of his 16 appearances of 2010. The Buckeye native ranks third in goals (43) and points (98), fifth in assists (12), and eighth in games played (78) for the Falcons.

#Alex Klein#, a junior from Frankfurt, Germany, has held opponents to a stifling 0.43 goals against average in 19 appearances, good for fourth best in the NAIA. In 1,685 minutes of action Klein has made 53 saves on 61 shots on target for a .869 save percentage. Holding an all-time record of 25-1-0 with career 0.37 goals against average, the Frankfurt native is the all-time leader in wins in a season (19), shutouts in a season (10) and career shutouts 21.


Geographic Roster: 

England (8): – #Jacob Child#, #Philip Cutler#, #Luke Holmes#, #Elliot Kelly#, #Ryan McGreevy#, #Tom Mellor#, #Tom Owens#, #Dominic Waldron# 

Ohio (7): – #Erik Beattie#, #Christian Earnest#, #Kyle Hayes#, #Steven Kane#, #Josip Samardzija#, #Jon Smola#, #Sam Vail# 

Germany (2): – #Alex Klein#, #Jan Skoropinski# 

Australia (1): – #Carlo Manna# 

Michigan (1): – #Scott Olinski# 

Ontario (1): – #Jacob Sheppard# 

Senegal (1): – #Mo Sougoufara# 

Texas (1): – #Nathan Nweaze# 

Wales (1): – #Daniel Knight# 

West Virginia (1): – #Cody Brown#







TEN YEARS CONTINUING THE TRADITION….

Sept. 4, 2001: Tim Finklea, a freshman captain from Bedford, Ohio led the Falcons onto the field for their first campaign against Tiffin (Ohio).

Sept. 4, 2001: Jeremy Kephart, a forward from Parma, Ohio scored the first ever goal in NDC history in a 2-5 loss to Tiffin. Kephart left Notre Dame as the all-time leader in goals (64). 

Oct. 16, 2001: The Falcons put their mark in the opening season by defeating AMC reigning conference champions, Ohio Dominican 3-2 at Korb Field.

Nov. 2, 2002: In a dream second season, Notre Dame stormed to their first ever championship trophy, 4-1 over Geneva College.

Oct. 12, 2005: After a 9-1-2 start that included defeating Mobile (Ala.) 2-1, Oct. 7, and drawing 1-1 with then No. 22 Cumberland (Tenn.), Oct. 9, Notre Dame received its first NAIA Ranking, No. 19 in the sixth pool of the season.

Nov. 18, 2005: Nicky Jordan, a sophomore captain from Mentor, Ohio led the Falcons to their first NAIA National Tournament win, 2-1 OT over No. 5 Simon Fraser.

Sept. 19, 2007: #Steven Kane#, then a freshman from Jereomesville, Ohio scored the Falcons fourth goal in a 4-1 win, from over 40 yards against NCAA-I neighbor, Cleveland State.

Oct. 25, 2008: #Steven Kane#, then a sophomore from Jereomesville, Ohio scored in the 99th minute to defeat Rio Grande for the first time in program history, 2-1 OT at Korb Field.

Dec. 1, 2009: #Christian Earnest#, then a freshman from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio would score the third goal in a 3-1 win over Benedictine (Kan.) advancing the Falcons to their second Final Eight of the NAIA National Tournament.

Sept. 4, 2010: The Falcons marked their tenth year anniversary on Sept. 4, 2010 with a 6-0 win over Iowa Wesleyan at the Calumet College of St. Joseph Crimson Wave Invitational; the win marked the schools 121st victory.

Oct. 23, 2010: Coach McBride coached his 200th match on Saturday Oct. 23, 2010. The Blue and White defeated Roberts Wesleyan 1-0 in OT on NDC's homecoming.

Nov. 13, 2010: #Luke Holmes#, a junior from Oldham, England breaks Jeremy Kephart's record 64 career goals with his 65th tally in the Falcons 5-2 AMC Championship win over No. 21 Houghton (N.Y.).

Nov. 20, 2010: Notre Dame piled on five goals against Davenport (Mich. in the NAIA Men's Soccer Opening Round, for the largest win of the round, 5-0. The win marked the team's record 20th win of the season. 



NOTES FROM THE NEST....

ALWAYS SUNNY IN NOVEMBER: The Falcons hold a 16-7-0 record in November matches including 10-0-0 over the last three season.

HOT SECOND: Notre Dame has outscored opponents 52-3 in the second half of matches.

20/20: The Blue and White hold the record for most wins in a season (20-0-0).

PERFECTION: Notre Dame finished the regular season with their first perfect record in program history, 17-0-0. The Blue and White finished their final season in the AMC with a perfect 8-0-0 record and marched through the AMC Tournament defeating opponents by a combined 11-3, securing their third consecutive title.

STREAKING FALCONS: Notre Dame is tied for the fourth longest active streak of being consecutively ranked in the NAIA Top 25 with 31 consecutive weeks. The NAIA has 220 schools that sponsor men's soccer. Soccer is the largest single division sport for men in the NAIA. Only Men's Basketball has more schools. 261 schools sponsor basketball split between Division I (116) and Division II (145). 

(NAIA Championship Website) (Championship Bracket) (Final Site Preview)