South Euclid, Ohio – As things wound in the Notre Dame College women's soccer game against Davis & Elkins, it looked like the teams were headed for overtime. A 0-0 score lit up the board at Mueller field with less than 10 minutes to play. But the Falcons kicked things into another gear to score a pair of goals in the final seven minutes to win 2-0 and keep their winning streak alive.
 
NDC had multiple chances in the first half, but were unable to convert due to multiple factors. Whether it was fouls right outside of the box or untimely offside calls, the pressure created by the Falcon offense failed to break through. Notre Dame out-shot D&E 5-0 in the first half and took six corner kicks.
 
Things continued in similar fashion in the second half, with the exception of the Senators taking one lone shot, which was saved by NDC goalkeeper Jordan Pasalaqua. The Falcons kept pushing through, however, and were finally able to score in the 84th minutes.
 
Kady Cushing found an opening down the left sideline to charge the NDC offense forward. The freshman defender then hit Kazarie Kephart for a quick shot into the goal.
 
"It was such a feeling of relief, especially after having chance after chance," Kephart said. "You feel like you have to get the ball in the back of the net."
 
Kephart's game winner was her third goal of the season, and third of her career at Notre Dame as a transfer. Not to be outdone, fellow junior transfer Ellie Gess scored three minutes later after a perfectly placed pass from Madison Luckett. With the ball landing in front of her, Gess slid toward the goal to bang it in.
 
Scoring those two goal in such a short time at the end of the game may have been a product of the Falcons speeding up their play.
 
"You kind of feel everyone get hyped up as the game wears on, especially the other team when it's 0-0," Kephart said. "We start to play a little quicker. Once we were under 10 minutes to go we knew we really had to get a goal because we didn't want to go into overtime. I feel like the less time we had to play the more we picked up our speed."
 
Head coach Mike Shiels was happy to see his team win their third-straight game by scoring multiple goals.
 
"They put a lot of work in, and they deserve it," Shiels said. "We've out-shot almost every team we've played this year, we've had more corners and done everything we need to do so it's something they deserve.
 
"We have finally been able to put together a string of games where we have been able to put a couple goals away. We have been playing well all season, but games like this really motivate our players to keep making runs and finding ways to get into the box."
 
Notre Dame should have no trouble staying motivated in its final six games. The Falcons jumped into sole possession of third place in the MEC North standings and are just one point out of second and four out of first. The top three teams from each division earn a spot in the conference tournament, and NDC has been eyeing their journey to the postseason.
 
"We've been looking for the past couple weeks," Shiels said. "We know where we are and where we want to be. Obviously, some of it's out of our hands, but if we keep getting results the way we have been lately it'll be hard to keep us out of anything."
 
Notre Dame will look to get more results on Sunday, October 20, as the Falcons welcome Charleston for a 12 p.m. match.