Box Score
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Saturday afternoon at Mueller Field marked a Mountain East Conference showdown between the visiting Concord Mountain Lions and the host Notre Dame Falcons. NDC cruised to a 6-0 win over the Mountain Lions, led by a first-half hat trick from
Leonardo Paiva.
The Falcons (5-3 overall, 5-1 MEC) continued their impressive play as of late, picking up their fourth straight win and fifth win in six games. NDC dominated the match throughout, outshooting Concord by a 28-2 margin.
Paiva started the scoring frenzy early for NDC as he scored a 7th minute goal with an assist from
Guilherme Gloria Albuquerque, giving the Falcons the early 1-0 lead.
The score remained at 1-0 as the first half progressed, but the Falcons remained relentless on the offensive attack. The offensive aggressiveness paid off in the form of another goal as Paiva scored a 32nd minute goal, assisted by
Mats Jota, to push NDC's lead to 2-0.
But the Falcons weren't done there. Paiva, who scored eight goals in three games coming into today, added his third goal of the game against Concord with a 44th minute goal. The goal was assisted by
Joao Pedro Ribas de Oliveira, and completed the first-half hat trick for Paiva, the leading scorer in all of NCAA Division II.
At halftime, the Falcons led the Mountain Lions by a 3-0 margin.
In the second half, the Falcons relied on steady defense to thwart any offensive momentum for the Mountain Lions.
George Kennett scored a 57th minute goal for the Falcons, adding to NDC's lead as the Falcons extended their lead to 4-0 early in the second half. In the 72nd minute, Concord then scored an own goal off an NDC corner kick, giving NDC a 5-0 lead.
The Falcons added one final goal in the 82nd minute as
Thomaz Freitas scored via penalty kick, giving the Falcons a 6-0 lead.
From there, the Falcons held on for the 6-0 home win over Concord.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 5-3 on the season, including a 5-1 mark against Mountain East Conference competition.
NDC returns to action on Tuesday, Oct. 4 on the road against the Urbana Blue Knights. Game time is scheduled for 4 pm in Urbana, Ohio.