MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- Notre Dame opened American Mideast Conference play with a taut 1-0 victory over Mount Vernon Nazarene on Saturday. (Box)

Freshman goalkeeper #Kristy Kolschetzky# made nine stops and the NDC defense kept a solid lady Cougar squad off the board, as the Falcons notched their third consecutive clean sheet. Notre Dame (2-1-2, 1-0 AMC) got a #Lauren Kobylik# goal in the 67th minute to claim the 1-0 victory over MVNU (3-2, 1-1).

Kobylik's goal, her second of the season, came off an #Alex Mannier# feed and it sends the Falcons back to South Euclid with a win in an AMC opener for a third time in the last four years. Notre Dame went 8-3 in league play en route to finishing in third place a year ago.

"I'm very happy with our performance today,” said Head Coach #Mike Shiels#. “It was important to begin conference play well and a win on the road is a good start.”

For the first time in her collegiate career, Kolschetzky went the distance between the pipes for Notre Dame. The nine saves made by the Mentor, Ohio, native mark a season-high for the Falcons, who with the win avenge a pair of losses to the Lady Cougars a season ago. One of those losses ended Notre Dame's season, when MVNU defeated NDC, 2-1 in overtime in the AMC Tournament.

In Saturday's contest at Mount Vernon, the host Lady Cougars out-shot Notre Dame, 16-10. Kolschetzky's 90-minute performance brings her season goals-against average down to 0.54. She has allowed just two netfinders in 335 minutes of play and now owns a .913 save percentage.

With the lid on the goal throughout Saturday's match, NDC has now played a stretch of 254 minutes and 51 seconds without allowing a goal.

The Falcons will look to extend that run in their next match which is slated for Wednesday, Sept. 22. That match -- a home tilt against Ursuline to be played in Gates Mills, Ohio -- will be NDC's next conference test. Kickoff at Hawken School is scheduled for 4 p.m.


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

MVN-TWO: Saturday's win against the Lady Cougars marked just the second Notre Dame has had against MVNU. Mount Vernon had been 7-1 in eight previous meetings with the Falcons. The Lady Cougars defeated NDC twice in 2009 (2-1 in Lyndhurst on Oct. 20 and 2-1 in Houghton, N.Y., on Nov. 13).

SPLITS-VILLE: Since 2007, Notre Dame is now … 18-10-4 in September games … 15-9-1 in road games … 25-6-1 in AMC play … 15-12 in games decided by one goal.