This week: The Notre Dame College women's soccer team will return home on Wednesday Sept. 29 to face Alderson Broaddus at 4 p.m. on Mueller Field, before traveling down to West Liberty, WV to face the Hilltoppers on Saturday, October 2 at 1 p.m.
 
Records: Notre Dame enters this week with a 1-2-2 record (1-1-2 MEC) and currently sit in fifth place with five points in the Mountain East Conference North Division. Alderson Broaddus will come to town at a 1-4 record (0-4 MEC) and are placed sixth in the MEC North Division with zero points. West Liberty will host the Falcons at 3-2-1 (2-1-1 MEC) and are third in the MEC North Division with seven points. It is worth noting that the Hilltoppers will have a match on Wednesday vs. Wheeling before ultimately playing NDC this weekend.
 
Coaches Corner: Mike Shiels is in his 19^th season at the helm of the NDC women's soccer program. Shiels has a career 182-111-28 record with NDC, including three MEC tournament championships and four MEC Coach of the Year honors. Jaron Hulme is in his fourth season with AB after serving as the assistant coach in 2016 and 2017. Barry Christmas is in his ninth season as the founding head coach of the WLU women's soccer program.
 
Rankings: None of these teams are ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
 
Series History: NDC will host the Battlers on Wednesday in the second meeting all-time between the schools, with Notre Dame winning their first matchup back in 2011. The Falcons will also be looking to keep an unbeaten streak alive against WLU when they bring their 12-0-6 all-time record into town dating back to 2013. The Falcons and Hilltoppers will be playing their second match against each other this season after the two teams fought to a scoreless draw on Sept. 15 in South Euclid.
 
Noting the Falcons: Last week the Falcons went 0-1-1 after dropping a tough match 3-2 to Wheeling on Wednesday and drawing 0-0 with Frostburg State on Sunday. In the match against Wheeling, Notre Dame totaled six shots and three on target to create two goals for the team. An early flurry of offense was highlighted by Jordi Markovic and Louisa Follert both with goals within the first 13 minutes. A late 77^th minute score from the Cardinals sealed the fate for NDC on a rainy Wednesday evening. On Sunday, Notre Dame ripped 11 shots and put three on target but were held off the scoreboard along with Frostburg State. The scoreless draw marks the second such occurrence for NDC this season.
 
Thus far, NDC has totaled five goals and are led by Follert who has netted three. She leads the team in goals, points and shots on goal (7), while being second on the team in shots (9). Sammy Salatino is the leader in shots with 15, while being second in total points (3). She is also tied for first on the team in assists (1) and tied for second in goals (1). Follert and Salatino are the backbone to the NDC attack that has created 44 shots and 21 shots on goal this year. Jordan Pasalaqua collected 14 saves this past week and one clean sheet as she faced 30 total shots over the last two games. In addition, Pasalaqua has 29 saves on the season and posts a .853 save percentage.

As a team, NDC also has three assists, 14 corner kicks and one yellow card. The opposition also has five goals scored, but on 62 total shots and 35 on goal. Opponents have totaled three assists, 16 saves, 16 corner kicks and have received three yellow cards.
 
Noting the Battlers: Alderson Broaddus will enter the match on a four-game losing streak, including two games last week against Fairmont State and Wheeling. On Wednesday against Fairmont State, the Battlers lost 5-1. AB was outshot in the match 11 to FSU's 16 with six shots on target to the Falcons 11. On Sunday, Alderson Broaddus lost a heartbreaker in overtime to the Cardinals 3-2. AB had fought back with two second half goals to equalize the match in the 83^rd minute. However, Wheeling edged out the Battlers in the 94^th minute with a sudden death goal in the first overtime period. A very even match saw AB shoot the ball ten times and put five on target, while WU totaled nine shots with five on target.
 
On the season, the Battlers have 41 shots with 19 coming on goal. They have generated six total goals, five assists, 27 saves, 11 corner kicks and have two yellow cards. AB is led by leading goal scorer and point scorer Diana Forero. Forero has two goals and four points in 2021. As a team, the Battlers have allowed 14 goals on 74 shots and 41 on target.
 
Noting the Hilltoppers: WLU enters this week after splitting their pair of games last week against Frostburg State and Fairmont State. On Wednesday against Frostburg State in Maryland, West Liberty lost 3-0 to the Bobcats in game that they were outshot 20 to 4, including 13 to 2 with shots on goal. On Sunday WLU got down early 1-0 but played resiliently to pull off a 2-1 defeat of Fairmont State. The Hilltoppers registered 10 shots and five on goal, compared to FSU's nine shots and five on goal.
 
On the season, WLU has five goals on 55 shots with 30 coming on target. They also had three assists, 22 saves, 17 corner kicks and three yellow cards. The Hilltoppers are led by a duo of Kaelyn Oskin and Isabella Aperfine who have two goals and five points apiece. Their opposition has six goals scored on 52 shot attempts with 28 on target.