This Week: Notre Dame College hosts Shepherd on Thursday, October 18, at 3 p.m. before traveling to Charleston for a 1 p.m. kick on Sunday, October 21. Tomorrow's game against Shepherd will be Senior Day for the Falcons.
 
Next Week: NDC will again play a split MEC series with a home game against Wheeling Jesuit on Wednesday, October 24, at 3 p.m. and a road game at Urbana on Sunday, October 28, at 1 p.m. These are the last two games of the regular season.
 
Records: The Falcons are 7-4-1 (7-1-1 MEC) after defeating Glenville State 9-0 and tying West Virginia Wesleyan 0-0 last week. Notre Dame was on a six-game winning streak before the tie at WVWC. Shepherd is 4-7-3 (3-3-3 MEC) and has not lost a conference game in its last five matches (2-0-3). Charleston also is on a hot streak, going 4-0-1 in its last five games to move its overall record to 7-6-1 (6-2-1 MEC). Wheeling Jesuit is 2-10-1 (1-7-1 MEC) after tying Shepherd and losing to Charleston last week. Urbana is 3-9 (2-7 MEC) after breaking a six-game skid against Glenville State on October 14.
 
Coaches Corner: Mike Shiels is in his 16th season as the head coach for the Falcons. During his time at NDC, Shiels has gone 162-99-20 with a 68-9-8 MEC record. Emily Hester is in her first season with Shepherd after serving as an assistant coach at Southern Utah the past two years. Hester is 4-7-3 (3-3-3 MEC).Todd Diuguid is in his 17th season as the leader of the Charleston women's soccer program. Wheeling Jesuit is coached by Tyler Absalom who is in his fourth year. Absalom is 18-44-5, 15-37-5 MEC. Kevin Mounce is also in his fourth season at Urbana. Mounce is 15-43-6, 13-37-6.
 
Rankings: None of the teams received votes in the October 16 United State Soccer Coaches Poll.
 
Series History: Notre Dame is undefeated against Shepherd (11-0-1), Wheeling Jesuit (9-0) and Urbana (12-0). The Falcons are 8-3-1 against Charleston.
 
Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame has allowed just three goals in conference play this season, shutting out six teams so far this year. Those strong defensive performances have earned goalkeeper Kyra McDowell back-to-back MEC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Much of the team's defensive success is also due to the defenders on the team only allowing 62 shots on goal this season, the third fewest in the MEC. Charleston (7.14), Shepherd (7.00), Wheeling Jesuit (6.54) and Urbana (5.42) rank fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively in the MEC, in shots on goal per game. Notre Dame will look to keep each of those teams under their average as the Falcons only allow 5.17 shots on goal per game.
 
Noting the Rams: Shepherd sits in the middle of the Mountain East rankings in both goals per game (1.38) and goals allowed per game (1.54). But this close average in goals scored and allowed are not due to the close nature of the Rams' games, despite having three ties to their name. Of the 11 contests either won or lost, only two have been by a difference of one goal while just four have been decided by two, which leaves five games with a difference of three or more goals. Notre Dame has just four games this season that have been decided by more than one goal.
 
Noting the Golden Eagles: Notre Dame will have to keep up its streak of strong defensive play against Charleston if the Falcons want to leave West Virginia with a victory. The Golden Eagles have won all six of their games in which they scored multiple goals. Charleston is just 1-6-1 when kept to fewer than two goals.
 
Noting the Cardinals: Wheeling Jesuit will visit Notre Dame this season, but playing at home may not be the biggest advantage for the Falcons. While the Cardinals are just 2-10-1 this year, both of their wins have come on the road. But WJU has not won more than two road contests since the 2011 season.
 
Noting the Blue Knights: With Urbana comes Alyssa Edwards. And Edwards is the second-leading scorer in the Mountain East Conference this season with seven goals. The sophomore from Canal Winchester, Ohio also ranks second in the MEC in game-winning goals (three). But if Notre Dame can keep Edwards in check, the Falcons have a good chance to win. All three of Urbana's wins this year have come in games that Edwards has scored in and the team has just nine goals outside of her seven.
 
Battle for MEC North: With 22 points in MEC play this season, Notre Dame is close to winning the first ever MEC North title. Fairmont State is the closest challenger to NDC with 14 points, but all the Falcons need is 26 points to clinch the top seed in the North Division. Each win is worth three points while a tie is worth one, so if the Falcons can win two of their final four games NDC will clinch the Division championship.
 
Senior Day: On Thursday, October 18, Notre Dame will honor six players who have meant a great deal to the program. These players were key members of the 2016 MEC Regular Season and Tournament Championship teams. This group also played an important role in Notre Dame's first NCAA postseason victory last year.
 
Norah Barnes has played in 72 career games, recording seven goals and eight assists. She has had three game-winning goals. Barnes has won several awards including 2015 All-MEC Freshman Team, 2015 All-MEC Second Team, 2016 Academic All-Region, 2017 Academic All-Region and 2017 Academic All-American honors.
 
Samantha Bidinger has played in five games and scored a game-winning goal against Urbana last season. She has also recorded one assist.
 
Katarina Doncevic has played in 71 games over the last four years. Doncevic has totaled 44 points on 17 goals and 10 assists, and has tallied six game winners. She has earned sever honors including 2016 Second Team All-MEC, 2017 First Team All-MEC and 2017 United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-Atlantic Region. Her 10 assists ranks in the top 10 in NDC history and her six game-winning goals is No.6 all time.
 
Sarah Grossman has played in 71 games, scored two goals and assisted on four others. She was acknowledged for her outstanding defensive play by several outlets last season earning First Team All-MEC and Second Team All-Atlantic Region by both the United Soccer Coaches and the Conference Commissioner's Association.
 
Lytia Hart has played in 62 games. She has scored three goals and assisted on four others for a total of 10 points.
 
Maranda Melton has appeared in 67 games throughout her career. She has scored five goals and assisted on three. Melton has earned Second Team All-MEC honors in 2014, 2015 and 2016.