This week: Notre Dame College plays three games this week, two on the road and one at home. On Tuesday, October 3, the Falcons travel to West Virginia Wesleyan for a game a 4 p.m. before returning home to host Charleston a 3 p.m. on Friday, October 6. NDC wraps up its week with a game at Wheeling Jesuit on Sunday, October 8 at 2 p.m.
 
Records: The Falcons (7-1-1, 7-0-1 MEC) and the Bobcats (9-0-1, 8-0 MEC) remain the only two undefeated teams in the Mountain East Conference. Wheeling Jesuit is 3-6 overall with a 2-5 MEC record.
 
Coaches Corner: Mike Shiels is in his 14th season as the head coach for the Falcons. During his time at NDC, Shiels has gone 148-92-17 with a 56-6-6 MEC record. Patrick Holguin is in his seventh season with the Bobcats. Last season, Holguin coached his team to a 12-3-3 record. Todd Diuguid is in his 17th season as the leader of the women's soccer program at Charleston. The Golden Eagles finished 15-4-3 last season and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Tyler Absalom is in his second season with the Wheeling Jesuit program. Absalom has a career record of 9-17-1 at WJU.  
 
Rankings: West Virginia Wesleyan was ranked No. 11 in the September 26 United Soccer Coaches Poll. Notre Dame received votes, but did not make the top 25. Neither of the other schools NDC plays this week received votes.
 
Series History: Notre Dame is 3-7-2 against West Virginia Wesleyan since joining the Division II ranks in 2011. The Falcons are 7-3-1 against Charleston after defeated them on the road earlier this year. Wheeling Jesuit has yet to win a game against NDC as the Falcons are 7-0 against the Cardinals.
 
Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame struggled last week after starting its season off with seven-straight wins. The Falcons played their only scheduled non-conference game at Ashland and lost 2-1 before tying Shepherd 2-2. Historically, the Falcons do well after losses. NDC has not lost back-to-back games since the 2012 season. Last year, after its lone loss of the regular season, Notre Dame went on a 10-game win streak to finish out 2016.
 
Noting the Bobcats: West Virginia Wesleyan currently ranks first in the MEC with 24 points. The Bobcats are 8-0 in MEC play and lead the Falcons by two points in the standings. WVWC can put distance between themselves and NDC or the teams could swap places in the standings for the conference at No. 1 and No. 2. Wesleyan had a successful September, winning all nine of its games after tying Shippensburg on the last day of August. The Bobcats were also undefeated in September 2016 with a 6-0-2 record that included a tie against NDC. WVWC suffered only two regular season losses last year at the hands of Charleston and Notre Dame.
 
Noting the Golden Eagles: Charleston and Notre Dame may have a bit of a rivalry after the past two seasons. In both 2015 and 2016 the Falcons and Golden Eagles split their regular season games against each other 1-1 and then later met up in the MEC Tournament. In 2015, Charleston earned a 1-0 victory to end the Falcons season, but in 2016, NDC advanced after penalty kicks resolved a 0-0 tie. In the past four games (including the 2015 playoff game) that ended in a decision, the away team has come out victorious.  
 
Noting the Cardinals: Wheeling Jesuit opened MEC play this season at NDC and will be looking to balance the score after losing in that game 3-1. Jenny Soegaard, who leads the Cardinals with three of their seven goals this season, was able to score the first goal of the WJU season against the Falcons in that early game. Wheeling Jesuit has used two goalkeepers this season with varied success. Hannah Thompson (2-6), who ranks second in the MEC in saves per game (6.38), has allowed an average of 2.51 goals per game. Megan Herter (1-0) earned her first start of the season and first shutout in a double overtime match against Fairmont State (9/27) last week. Despite only allowing one goal in 149 minutes played this season, Thompson started the next game against Concord (9/30), which resulted in a 2-0 loss.