ERIE, Pa. – Notre Dame College got off to a fast start in the season opener with freshman Alexandru Rumleanschi scoring in the 13th minute, on Thursday afternoon. Gannon struck back with two goals in the second half to take the win, 2-1.

The Falcons got the ball on Gannon's side of the field in the early portion of the game and found the first real scoring opportunity. Junior Javier Mate took the first Notre Dame shot in the 11^th minute.

About two minutes later, following a foul, senior Arthur Favero launched a free kick 30 yards into the box. Rumleanschi was running toward goal and found a hole in the defense. He used the pass to put the first point on the scoreboard.

Over the next three minutes, NDC would take two more shots, including one shot that was saved by GU goalkeeper Chandler Hallwood.

At halftime, NDC held the one goal advantage. Both teams took seven shots in the first 45 minutes, but Gannon had one shot on goal while the Falcons had four.

To open the second half, Notre Dame came out of the locker room looking to quickly add to their advantage. They took three shots on goal in the first 10 minutes, making the Golden Knights' defense work hard.

On the other side of the pitch, Gannon also had a shot on goal in the initial 10 minutes of second half action. Then in the 37th minute, NDC senior goalkeeper Daniele De Angelis was called for a foul as he dove for a ball in front of an oncoming offensive player. Abdullah Say lined up in the box and made the penalty kick to tie the game.

Neither team could find many opportunities to take a good shot in the final 25 minutes of the match. But, GU grabbed their first lead of the day in the 84th minute. Anthony Marafioti sent a pass to the right side, finding Ben Andrews running into the box. Andrews took the shot and the ball sailed over De Angelis.

"This was always going to be a difficult game as Gannon is a quality team, but we need to be able to play for a 90 minute game and not just 45," said head coach Carl Nolan. "We had a good first half and looked comfortable, but our second half performance wasn't up to standard. Small details being mismanaged hurt is today. We will get better."

Favero and senior David Torralba each had two shots on goal. De Angelis finished with three saves while Hallwood stopped seven shots.

The Falcons will stay on the road and play Davis & Elkins College on September 8. The game is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.