This week: Notre Dame College will begin their regular season at home with a contest on August 30 against Gannon University and then a game versus Mercyhurst University on September 2. Both games will begin at 1 p.m.

Records: The Falcons had a record of 11-6-1 and went 8-4 in the Mountain East Conference in 2017. Last season, Gannon put together a record of 11-7-1 while Mercyhurst went 12-6.

Coaches Corner: Carl Nolan enters his third season at the helm of the NDC men's soccer program. He currently holds a record of 21-11-3, overall. His teams have made the MEC Tournament in each of his first two seasons. Dale White is in his fourth season as head coach at Gannon and has compiled a record of 29-22-2. Nenad Vidakovic also enters his fourth season with Mercyhurst and has a record of 36-19-2.

Rankings: These teams are not ranked in the United Soccer Coaches poll.

Series History: The Falcons are 4-2 all-time against Gannon and they are 2-5 versus Mercyhurst. The Falcons have won four out of the last five games against Gannon, outscoring them 13-4 over that span.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame was picked to finish second in the MEC preseason poll, receiving one first place vote. Last season, the Falcons scored 1.44 goals-per-goal, but allowed less than one goal-per-game (0.89) with nine shutouts. They also did not allow a goal to the No. 1 ranked University of Charleston through 110 minutes of play in the MEC Tournament game. Notre Dame had one player named All-American Honorable Mention, six named All-Region and six named to an All MEC Team. They will have to fill a void after forward Leonardo Paiva graduated. In all three seasons at NDC, Paiva was named an All-American, named to an All-Atlantic Region team and made the All-MEC First Team. Guilherme Gloria Albuquerque returns after finishing last season second on the team with four goals in 16 games. Daniele De Angelis was the goalkeeper throughout the 2017 season and recorded 55 saves and nine shutouts.

Noting the Golden Knights: Gannon was picked to finish second in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Preseason Poll. They had five first place votes. Last season, Gannon outscored their opponents 17-5 in the first half, but were outscored 14-11 in the second half. The Golden Knights started the 2017 campaign 0-4, but they turned the season around, losing only two regular season games the rest of the way and losing in the conference championship game. GU had two players named All-Region, one earned Academic All-District and four PSAC team selections. Mathias Krigbaum led the team with nine goals last season, four game winners and two penalty shot goals. Alex Lee Yaw had four assists for GU. The team will be looking for someone to consistently protect the goal. Both goalkeepers who saw time last season were seniors.

Noting the Lakers: Mercyhurst was picked to finish fourth in the PSAC Poll and had one first place vote. They fell in the 2017 PSAC Tournament in the quarterfinal to East Stroudsburg. The team scored 2.78 goals-per-game, but also allowed nearly two goals-per-game (1.83). After losing to No. 2 Charleston in the season opener, MU went 7-1 their next eight games of the 2017 campaign, including a 13-1 win over Pitt-Johnstown. They were also a very good first half team last season, outscoring their opponents 25-12. Hady Sarr returns after scoring nine goals while Connor Wilkinson had seven assists. Martin Jarc played in 11 games and made 29 saves, but allowed 2.20 goals-per-game on average.