CHARLESTON, W.Va. – On the final day of the regular season, Notre Dame College and the University of Charleston battled for the second spot in the Mountain East Conference standings. NDC set the tone early by outscoring UC 5-1 in the first quarter, held off a late Charleston run, and won by a score of 13-11.
 
Sophomore Grace Nickoloff stole the show in the first half, scoring a career-high five goals in the first 30 minutes of the contest. She put the first one into the back of the net, less than a minute into the game, and the Falcons were off and running. Sophomore Joselyn Storm scored and then senior Megan Dano gave NDC a 3-0 lead, with an assist from Jamira Mashore.
 
Charleston scored its first goal and then Dano passed to Nickoloff for back-to-back goals to give Notre Dame a 5-1 lead in the first quarter.
 
Freshman Grace Rotter won three of her five draw controls in the first, helping to give NDC the possession several times.
 
To start the second quarter, Nickoloff dished the ball to freshman Carlie Wilson for a goal. Sophomore Lexington Carson won the draw and made the score 7-1 with a free position shot, with 12:24 left on the second quarter clock.
 
Nickoloff scored two more goals and Notre Dame led the Golden Eagles, 9-3, at halftime. The Falcons were winning the draw control battle, 10-4, after one half.
 
Charleston started to swing the momentum early in the third quarter. After an NDC turnover, Charleston went down the field and struck first. The Falcons responded less than 30 seconds later when Storm won the draw and sophomore Piper Hammond put the ball into the net.
 
Possession changed hands several hands over the next several minutes, but UC's goalkeeper Georgia Ryan saved a shot to keep the Falcons from expanding the lead. From the 10:44-mark until the 5:14-mark in the third, Ryan stopped three shots. On the offensive side, Charleston scored two goals and closed within four, 10-6.
 
With 2:14 to go in the third, Dano scored her second goal, and the final goal of the quarter by either team.
 
To start the fourth quarter, Storm scored again for the Falcons to go up, 12-6. But Charleston began to come back.
 
The Golden Eagles scored five of the final six goals in the game. After a UC goal, with 1:23 remaining, Notre Dame's lead was down to two, 13-11. Charleston would win the next draw and threaten to score, but NDC's goalie Annika Duncan made a big save with one minute to go.
 
Along with Nickoloff's five goals, Dano scored twice and had two assists. Storm also scored twice and Mashore added three assists. Hammond caused two turnovers and won five draw controls. Dano, senior McKenna Kincaid and senior Nia Griffith all had two caused turnovers. Storm won four draw controls.
 
The Falcons move on to the conference tournament. They will host Charleston, the three seed, on May 3. The start time is set for 3 p.m.