This week: Notre Dame College plays Fairmont State at home today, October 4, at 4 p.m. before traveling to West Liberty on Sunday, October 7, for a 3 p.m. kickoff.
 
Records: The Falcons are 4-4, 4-1 MEC after two shutout victories against Urbana and Concord. Fairmont State is 6-1-2, 5-0-1 MEC while West Liberty is 2-5-2, 2-2-1 MEC
 
Coaches Corner: Mike Shiels is in his 14th season as the head coach for the Falcons. During his time at NDC, Shiels has gone 158-99-18 with a 66-10-7 MEC record. Brandon Heembrock is in his second season as the leader of the FSU program. He is 11-8-8, 8-7-7. The founding coach of West Liberty's soccer program, Barry Christmas has been with the team since 2011. In his seventh season this year, he has a 29-66-19, 24-40-17 MEC record.
 
Rankings: None of the teams received votes in the October 2 United State Soccer Coaches Poll.
 
Series History: Notre Dame suffered its first loss against Fairmont State earlier this year in 1-0 fashion to move its record against FSU to 5-1-1. NDC stayed unbeaten against West Liberty earlier in the season with a 1-0 overtime victory. The Falcons are 9-0-3 against the Hilltoppers.   
 
Noting the Falcons: Since beginning MEC play on September 9, Notre Dame has gone 4-1 with three shutout wins. Prior to September 9, the Falcon were themselves shutout in each of their first three games. In their four victories in 2019, NDC has outscored opponents 7-1. The team's lone MEC loss came at Fairmont State.  
 
Noting the Fighting Falcons: Fairmont State is one of three teams in the MEC that have scored more than 20 goals this season. With 24 goals, the Fighting Falcons have outscored their opponents by 19 points this season. The only team in the league with fewer goals allowed than FSU is West Virginia Wesleyan with two. Fairmont State has scored three of its goals on penalty kicks, converting on all three attempts. No other team in the MEC has more than one.
 
Noting the Hilltoppers: After starting the season 0-4-2, West Liberty was able to secure its first win on September 20. The Hilltoppers won two straight, before a loss against Charleston last week to make them 2-5-2. WLU has been shutout in five of their nine games this season and will likely struggle to score again today as they play West Virginia Wesleyan before Sunday's matchup.  
 
Battle for MEC North: Fairmont State leads the MEC North Division with 16 points, while Notre Dame is second with 12 and West Liberty is third with seven. Each win the conference is worth three points, and ties are worth one. If NDC is able to defeat FSU at home on Thursday, the team will cut Fairmont State's lead to just one point.