Box Score
CHARLESTON, W.Va -- Playing the same opponent four times in one season is not an easy task. When that opponent is the No. 6 ranked team in all of Division II, the task becomes that much more difficult. That's the task that the Notre Dame College men's soccer team was faced with on Saturday night, as the fourth-seeded Falcons played the top-seeded Charleston Golden Eagles in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the score, but ultimately fell short in a valiant effort, losing 4-2 to Charleston.

With the loss, the 2015 season of NDC men's soccer is officially over, but the Falcons can look back on their hard-fought efforts against Charleston with a positive outlook. 

Action began between the two sides just after 7 p.m. on Saturday night in Charleston, West Virginia, and the game remained scoreless early on. However, the Golden Eagles broke through with a 20th minute goal to take an early 1-0 lead over NDC.

Just over five minutes later, UC added another goal to its tally to take a 2-0 lead early in the 25th minute of the win-or-go-home game. But the Falcons didn't panic, and instead responded with offensive threats of their own.

As the first half began to wind down, the Falcons still trailed 2-0 but started to push the tempo on offense. In the 40th minute, the Falcons offense finally broke through.

Julian Castro, a Lorain, Ohio native, scored a 40th minute goal with an assist from Mountain East Conference Freshman of the Year Alexis Le Ho. Castro's goal was a crucial score for the Falcons, cutting UC's lead to just 2-1 going into halftime.

The Falcons went into halftime trailing by just one, but perhaps more important was the momentum swing at the end of the first half due to Castro's goal.

NDC came out of the halftime intermission hungry for more goals, looking to tie the score against Charleston. In need of their most important goal of the season, the Falcons turned to senior captain Declan McGivern, who scored a 57th minute goal to tie the score at 2-2.

With the second half progressing and the score tied at 2-2, the Falcons and Golden Eagles knew the importance of the next goal.

However, it was the Golden Eagles who struck a 75th minute goal to take a 3-2 lead over the Falcons. Two minutes later, UC scored again with a 77th minute goal that pushed the lead to 4-2.

Trailing by two goals with less than 15 minutes remaining in regulation, the Falcons worked for offensive chances, but to no avail. Shot attempts from NDC were saved in net by Charleston, and the Falcons couldn't find the late offense necessary to tie the game, leading to a 4-2 loss to Charleston.

With the loss, NDC concludes the 2015 season with an overall record of 13-7. The Falcons will return to action next Fall for the 2016 campaign of NDC men's soccer.