ABBEY, N.C. -- After building a four goal lead, the Falcons were able to weather a Belmont Abbey run in the second half as Notre Dame hung on for a 15-13 overtime victory Friday afternoon to level their record to 2-2. The Crusaders fall to 0-2 with the loss. (Box)

On offense, senior #Katie Christensen# led Notre Dame with 10 goals on 16 shots, while junior #Jen Hrobuchak# added two goals, while freshman #Kristen Hull#, senior #Amy Albanese#, and sophomore #Jill Dixon# each had one. Freshman #Madalyn Dewling# and #Kelly Matthewman# tallied four and two assists respectively.

Senior Kristyn Kinsey led the Abbey with five goals on nine shots, to go along with three assists. Laura Dowd added four goals, while Susan Killeavy scored twice. Elyse Mohn and Emily Hudgins both had one a piece. Lindsay Connolly and Killeavy both had two assists. Mohn and Rebecca Diggs dished out one each.

Notre Dame opened the game by scoring six of the first eight goals, three by Christensen, who tallied six in the first half. Down 8-3, the Crusaders mounted a comeback by scoring three unanswered goals. The Falcons ended the half by scoring two of the last three goals. Christensen's sixth of the half came with three seconds remaining to take a 10-7 lead into the locker room.

The Falcons outshot the Abbey 35-25 and won 20 draw controls to just 11 for the Crusaders.

Belmont Abbey dominated the second half, scoring six goals on ten shots as Kinsey buried the first two of the stanza, the second on a free position shot, to pull the Abbey within one at 10-9. After a Christensen goal, the Crusaders answered with three unanswered goals in six minutes, the final one coming with 13:35 remaining to give the Abbey its first lead at 12-11.

Three minutes later, Christensen deadlocked the game at 12, but that was quickly answered by the Crusaders at the 6:16 mark to put the Abbey ahead 13-12. That would be the last goal the Abbey would score, as Christensen knotted the game at 13 with her ninth goal of the contest, coming at 4:55. Both teams were scoreless for the rest of the period, thanks to saves from Torry Morgan and #Kelsey Harvey#.

In the first three minute extra period, Hrobuchak put the Falcons ahead to stay just 29 seconds into the session. The final goal came fittingly by Christensen with 48 ticks left in the second three minute period to seal the win.

“Everyone came out ready to play Belmont Abbey today, and did each individual job that we needed.” Commented #Katie Christensen# “It took the entire team to get our win, if we keep this up we could have the best season Notre Dame has ever seen”

Morgan made 12 saves, seven in the second period, while Harvey stopped eight shots to earn her first decision of her collegiate career.

Notre Dame returns to action on Saturday, March 5, when they wrap up their spring break trip with a match Belmont, N.C. against the Rangers of Regis University (Colo.). Faceoff scheduled for 3 p.m.


NOTES FROM THE NEST…

RECORD PERFORMANCE: #Katie Christensen# etched her name in the Falcons record book with program records for individual game bests in goals (10), points (10), and shots (16). The Sandy, Utah native broke Molly Merrill's pervious nine point record set March 21, 2006 and broke Gena McPherson and Molly Merrill's eight goal record along with Gena McPherson's 15 shot record recorded twice in 2007.

SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP: Falcons bench boss #Torrey McGowan# took on the Cusaders assistant coach Molly Lehman-Lewis for the first time. McGowan coached Lehman-Lewis at Suny Potsdam in 2007 and 2008.