SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – As the saying goes, it is tough to beat a team three times. Not only was Notre Dame College attempting to beat the University of Charleston for the third time this season, the Falcons were trying to take down the Golden Eagles for the second time in four days. On Wednesday, NDC scored five, unanswered, goals in the final 15 minutes to win 12-10 and advance to the Mountain East Conference Championship game.

Prior to the contest, the All-MEC First Team honorees were announced on the field, including the MEC Defensive Player of the Year, Piper Hammond.

The teams went back-and-forth in the first quarter. Hammond won the opening draw control and the Falcons struck first with a familiar sight. Senior Megan Dano added to her program assist record by passing to senior Jamira Mashore for the first goal.

Both defenses played extremely tight, as Charleston caused three early turnovers and NDC caused one. With just under 10 minutes remaining in the first quarter, NDC's goalie Annika Duncan saved a shot. But, UC retained possession and Sydney Verlinghieri scored to tie the contest at one.

Sophomore Lexington Carson caused a turnover for the Notre Dame defense and that led to a free-position goal by sophomore Grace Nickoloff.

However, after NDC took the 2-1 lead, Charleston began to take over. The Golden Eagles won six consecutive draw controls and gaining that early possession every time helped them outscore NDC 4-1 the rest of the first half. Charleston led 3-2 at the end of the opening quarter and 5-3 at halftime.

The Falcons were getting beat on the draw control, 6-3, in the first half. They changed that quickly in the second half, which was a major reason for NDC's comeback. In the third quarter, Notre Dame won nine of the 10 draw controls and would win 14 of the 16 in the second half.

"We weren't as composed in the first half, but we came together as a team in the second half," Hammond said.

"Everyone got on the same page and we knew what we needed to do," sophomore Joselyn Storm mentioned.

Charleston continued to play solid defense, totaling two caused turnovers in the third quarter, along with two shot clock violations. On offense, they continued to find the back of the net, scoring two of the first three goals to open the second half.

Notre Dame had not been able to score consecutive goals in the game, until the third stanza. From the 9:18-mark to the 7:21-mark, freshman Carlie Wilson, Storm and senior Kendal Johnson each scored to put together a 3-0 run and tie the contest at seven.

The home team was unable to run away with it as Charleston answered right back and closed the quarter on its own 3-0 run to take a 10-7 lead into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter opened with an early NDC miscue, giving the ball to UC, but Hammond got the ball back to the Falcons with her own caused turnover. Notre Dame flew down the field Wilson scored again.

Freshman Grace Rotter won the next draw control and the Falcons were off to the races. A yellow card on Charleston gave NDC a man-up opportunity and Storm took advantage with a goal. The Golden Eagles led 10-9.

Charleston won the next draw, its only draw control of the fourth quarter, but Hammond pounced and caused another turnover. Both goalies put up the stop sign and neither team scored for nearly seven minutes, despite taking two shots on target, each.

Duncan made, possibly, the most important save of the game, with six minutes remaining. With Notre Dame still trailing by a goal, UC had just caused a turnover and was sprinting to the offensive zone. Antonia Martinez sent a shot on goal but the Falcon goalkeeper shut the door. After that save, NDC's offense would score three times in less than three minutes to take the lead.

As a whole, the Notre Dame defense caused five turnovers in the fourth quarter. With 3:21 to go in the game, the Falcons led by one and caused a UC turnover. That represented Charleston's second failed clear of the entire game.

Storm and Wilson each had three goals to lead NDC. Storm has now put together six consecutive multi-goal games, while Wilson tied her career-high. Wilson also dished out the first two assists of her career, and set a career-high with five points. Nickoloff tied her career-high with two assists.

As a team, Notre Dame caused 18 turnovers, the second most in any game this season. Sophomore Kayla Manna set a career-high with four caused turnovers, while Hammond and Griffith each had three. Carson and sophomore Camille Brathwaite added two, each. Duncan saved seven shots.

Four Falcons won multiple draw controls. Storm tied her career-high with seven and Hammond added five.

"We let the moment get to us, early on, but it's the playoffs and you are going to get everyone's best shot. It came down to, survive and advance. We had multiple players step up at the right time, different players across the board" head coach Ben Morhac said.

For the third consecutive season, Notre Dame is headed to the MEC Championship game to face Frostburg State University. This year, FSU is the top seed and will host the finale, on Sunday, with a start time of 2 p.m.