SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Facing their fourth overtime in a row, the Notre Dame College women's soccer team knew they had to stay focused and determined to come away with a win against Wheeling. The Falcons did just that after a golden goal from Alyssa Soltis gave the team its first MEC victory of 2019.
 
"After three double overtime games in a row, we knew we had to close it out," said Kazarie Kephart, who assisted on the goal by Soltis.
 
Kephart also scored the first goal of the game for NDC after she was able to gather the ball at the 20-yard line and take it in, past two defenders for a shot against the Wheeling goalkeeper. The junior, in her first season with Notre Dame, pushed the ball past the goalie to score in the bottom right corner of the net.
 
"The ball was deflected and then ricocheted off one of their defenders, and from there I was able to just dribble it in," Kephart said. "You have to relax when you're one-on-one because if you mess up, you don't really have an excuse."
 
The Falcons were able to control much of the first half, with seven shots and four corner kicks compared to the Cardinals two and one, respectively.
 
The second half was a closer contest, but NDC still looked to be in the driver's seat for most of the final 45 minutes of regulation. The shot differential was much closer with Notre Dame leading 8-6, but the Falcons were able to earn seven corner kicks with their aggressive play.
 
Unfortunately, early on in the second half (47th minute), NDC scored an own goal to tie the game up 1-1. The Falcons were unable to gain their lead back in regulation to find themselves in another overtime.
 
Just like in regulation, Notre Dame was the dominant team. The Falcons were quick to apply pressure, but the first shot on goal, just 37 seconds into overtime was saved.
 
In the 97th minute, Kephart was once again working the defense down towards the goal. With the ball at the end line, Kephart toed the line to move in and find Soltis for the game-winner.
 
"We've been working on going to the end line instead of cutting it back to move things towards the goal," Kephart said. "I knew Alyssa was going to be there so all I needed to do was get past the defender to get it to her."
 
Soltis, running in from in front of the net, powered the ball into the goal, wasting no time from when the pass came to her.
 
After the game, Soltis was asked if she expected the ball to be there for her.
 
"Absolutely," she said. "We have really been working on that play and it's been there every time, it's just a matter of executing. We knew we had to convert."
 
NDC remains undefeated in conference play with an overall record of 2-1-3 (1-0-2 MEC).
 
Notre Dame hosts Frostburg State on Sunday, September 29, at 4 p.m.