Box Score
FINDLAY, Ohio -- The Notre Dame Falcons used a strong start with a terrific defensive effort in the first period to win their third match in a row, in a 23-13 victory over Findlay on Tuesday night.  

For the Falcons (7-6) the three game winning streak is their longest of the season, and puts them over the .500 hump for the first time this season, while for the Oilers (6-10) the loss was their second in a row overall, and snapped a three-game home winning streak.  

The Falcons limited the Oilers to just three goals on only nine shots in the opening half, as the Falcons closed the first half on a 6-0 run to take a 10-3 lead after one period. 

While the Oilers scored first on a free position shot just a couple of minutes into the contest, Notre Dame answered with four goals over the next 10 minutes to take a lead that they would never surrender. Three Falcons scored during that stretch with Kristen Hull scoring twice, while Kelly Matthewman and Halie Taylor scored as well. 

Findlay scored their final goal of the first period with 11:42 left on a man-up opportunity, before Notre Dame caught fire and scored the last six goals of the half to pull away.  Brooke Czarnecki scored three times during that 6-0 run, while Madalyn Dewling scored twice and Hull found the back of the net as well. 

Notre Dame did a great job of taking care of the ball in the second half, limiting their turnovers, and that allowed little to no chance for the Oilers to get back in the contest.  The Falcons committed just five turnovers in the second half, and committed 13 fewer turnovers (34-21) than the Oilers on the night.  

Findlay clawed their way back into the contest at the beginning of the second half.  They scored three out of the first four goals of the second period, and went on a 7-3 lead to cut the lead to just four (15-11) with just over 10 minutes remaining, before the Falcons closed the contest on an 8-2 run. 

Dewling started the aforementioned 8-2 run to slam the door on the Oilers three consecutive goals over a three minute stretch, and she scored half of NDC's eight goals in the final 10 minutes of action. Katrina Johnson scored a pair of goals in the closeout run as well, while Hull and Demi Bennett scored as well. 

A total of eight Falcons scored at least once on the evening, while four Falcons scored multiple times.  The offensive effort was led by Dewling, who scored eight goals in the contest, including four in the final 10 minutes, and she added a pair of assists as well. Hull finished with five goals on the evening while Czarnecki and Johnson scored three goals on the night.  Matthewman led the Falcons with three assists. 

NDC goalkeeper Lauren Ragsdale saved seven shots in the winning effort, and Bennett led the NDC defensive effort with a team high, seven ground balls, with a pair of caused turnovers. 

The Falcons will finish their season on Saturday, April 26, when they head to Buckannon, W.Va., to take on West Virginia Wesleyan.  The contest is scheduled for a 12 p.m. start.