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JSheppard_A3
Ryan Baker
WHAT THE HEAD IS FOUR: Jacob Sheppard headed in NDC's first goal on Sunday. Sheppard now has four goals this season.

Men's Soccer by Skip Snow

Bird battle goes to Falcons

NDC triumphs, 2-1, at Ashland

Box Score
ASHLAND, Ohio -- Tom Owens notched a goal and an assist, and the Falcons allowed just three shots on goal as they turned away the Ashland Eagles, 2-1, on Sunday.

With the victory in the key Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference match-up, NDC bounces back from a loss at Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) on Friday.  Notre Dame (7-2, 5-2 GLIAC) has now won four of its last five games.  The meeting with Ashland (6-2-1, 5-2) marked the Falcons' first game against the Eagles since 2009.  Prior to Sunday's tilt, AU had won three straight games this season, outscoring foes, 7-1, along the way.

On Sunday, NDC got things going when Owens fed Jacob Sheppard, who nodded a shot into the right side of the net in the 41st minute of action.  That would be the lone score of the game until the 60th minute when Owens found nylon on a shot fired to the far left corner.  That goal -- Owens' seventh of the season -- gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead.

It wasn't until the 85:02-mark that the Eagles got on the board.  That score came courtesy an own goal, an AU shot deflected by Sheppard that go past goalkeeper Jan Skorupinski.  It was a rare attempt for Ashland in a match that NDC controlled as far as its own end was concerned: the Falcons outshot the Eagles, 23-4, in the contest.  Skorupinski finished with two saves.

Owens himself outshot Ashland; he got off 10 shots in the game.  He has now scored 20 points this season (seven goals, six assists). 

For Head Coach Michael “Mac” McBride and the Falcons, though, the main point is this: they emerged Sunday evening having bounced back from a tough loss against a ranked Saginaw Valley squad (No. 13 National Soccer Coaches Association of America).  With the win, NDC evened the all-time series with Ashland -- each team has won four games in eight total meetings.  The last three matches have all been decided by scores of 2-1, with Notre Dame winning two of those affairs.

The Falcons' next three matches will be at home.  The first of those -- a GLIAC tilt against Findlay -- is slated for Friday at 5 p.m.
  
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