LYNDHURST, Ohio – In a match that had all the ingredients for a big match, third-ranked, Notre Dame (9-0-0) remained undefeated with a 6-1 victory over NSCAA/HendrickCars.com NCAA Division II 15th ranked Ashland (4-2-0) on Wednesday.

Over the last seven seasons, the Falcons are 4-3 against Ashland. Notre Dame has outscored the Eagles 15-12 during that stretch as well. Last year, the two teams met at Ashland on Sept. 6, with the Falcons coming away with a 2-1 victory in overtime. Jacob Shepherd's cross in the 97th minute found Luke Holmes who buried the shot from eight yards out.

The Falcons opened their first home match of the year in uncharted territory. AU forward Louis Clark latched on the end of a searching ball and lobed Falcons net minder Alex Klein from 20 yards at the 3:26 mark.

The Falcons would respond just five minutes later when #Steven Kane#, a senior from Jeromesville, Ohio picked up a ball and headed towards the Eagles net. Kane's mashing left footer from the top of the box, sailed by the helpless AU keeper at the 8:35 mark.

In proper Falcon fashion, #Tom Mellor#, a sophomore from Shaw, England picked the ball up at midfield, beat two defenders on the left wing before charging towards the Eagles goal. Striking his shot to the back post, Mellor put the Falcons on top at the 9:34 mark just 61 seconds after Kane drew the Falcons level.

That goal would be all Notre Dame would need to preserve its ninth consecutive win . The NDC defense was solid throughout and Falcon midfielders and forwards kept pressure on the visiting Eagles not allowing more than a few threats in the contest.

Mellor became the provider when he beat two Eagles defenders on the byline and sent a searching pass through the box. #Mo Sougoufara#, a senior from Dakar, Senegal latched onto Mellor's pass and sent it into a gaping net for a 3-1 advantage.

Sougoufara began to look like Samuel Eto'o with his dribbling skills, keeping the Eagles defenders on their wrong foot all night. After amazing the home crowd with several skillful silky moves he sent a precise cross from the right wing to the back post. A crashing Kane smashed home his second goal of the game at the 45:52 mark, his 11th of the season, a career high.

Not to be forgotten, #Luke Holmes#, a junior from Oldham, England smashed home his 11th goal of the season from 22 yards extending the Falcons lead to 5-1 at the 58:29 mark.

Holmes would pick up his second goal of the match and his team leading 12th of the season at the 78:02 mark when Sougoufara would again turn defenders inside out awing the crowd before sending his cross to Holmes. Holmes the 2009 NAIA leading goal scorer would deposit the ball from inside the six pushing the Falcons lead to a dominating 6-1 advantage.

#Alex Klein#, a junior from Frankfurt, Germany went the distance for the Falcons securing his eighth victory and ninth straight for the Falcons. The net minder earned the victory without recording a save and only faced one shot on target. 



NOTES FROM THE NEST…. 

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: Only twice in the previous seven meetings has the final score been decided by more than a single goal. On Sept. 2, 2006 NDC defeated Ashland 3-1, and on Sept. 5, 2007 again the Falcons defeated AU by two goals, 4-2.

RANK'EM: The Falcons come into the rivalry match ranked-third in the NAIA, up one spot from the week before. Ashland fell to 15th in the latest NSCAA/HendrickCars.com National Rankings for NCAA Division II from 12th following a loss 3-2 to sixth-ranked Northern Kentucky.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since the program's inception in 2001, Men's Soccer is 58-15-2 (.773) at the friendly confines of Korb Field.