Box Score
URBANA, Ohio -- As the old adage goes, "It's hard to beat a team three times in one season." After being swept by Urbana during the regular season, the Falcons used a 28th minute goal from Leonardo Paiva, the MEC's leading goal-scorer, to escape the MEC Semifinal match at Urbana with a narrow 1-0 victory.

With the win, the third-seeded Falcons advance to the MEC Championship game on Sunday, facing the winner of No. 1 Charleston and No. 4 Wheeling Jesuit.

In a matchup that featured two familiar opponents, the Falcons and Blue Knights began the game with a physical presence. Urbana controlled ball possession early on, but the ball went back-and-forth in a ping-pong like volley as both sides looked to establish control.

Just past the midway point in the first half, the Falcons offense began to build momentum. NDC held possession on Urbana's end of the field, and soon enough the Falcons were able to capitalize on offense.

In the 28th minute, Renan Troccoli found an opening in the Urbana defense and dished a pass to Leonardo Paiva, who scored to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. The goal from Paiva was his 19th of the season, and proved to be his most important goal of the season as well.

Following the goal from Paiva, the Falcons defense continued to stand tall, forcing Urbana into difficult shot attempts. Daniel Nagy made four first-half saves in net for the Falcons, and NDC went into halftime with a narrow 1-0 lead.

Urbana outshot NDC by a 6-4 margin in the first half, and the tightly-contested matchup continued in the second half.

In the second half, the Blue Knights outshot the Falcons again by a narrow advantage, 6-5, but Nagy and the NDC defense refused to surrender a goal.

Nagy made one more save in the second half, totaling five saves in the game, and the Falcons held off a late push from Urbana for a 1-0 victory over the Blue Knights.

With the win, the Falcons advance to the MEC Championship game on Sunday. NDC will face the winner of No. 1 Charleston vs No. 4 Wheeling Jesuit, a match that takes place on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

If Charleston wins, the Falcons will travel to Charleston for the MEC Championship on Sunday. If fourth-seeded Wheeling Jesuit wins, the Falcons would host the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at Mueller Field.

More updates can be found on the Mountain East Conference website as information becomes available.