BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – Notre Dame College took an undefeated road record into a matchup with West Virginia Wesleyan College, on Wednesday. WVWC took an early lead on a penalty kick, but the Falcons tied the game before halftime and scored five times in the second half to win, 6-2.
 
Entering the day, these two teams were tied in the Mountain East Conference standings, in second place, with 10 points each. NDC now stands alone in second.
 
The Falcons nearly grabbed the lead in the 19th minute. The ball sat at the top of the box and a nice touch pass off the heel of junior Mirai Sato set up junior Connor O'Reilly for a strike at the goal, but the shot bounced off the crossbar.
 
In the 24th minute, West Virginia Wesleyan's Emre Deniz Sinasi converted a penalty kick goal, following an NDC foul in the box.
 
Notre Dame's goalkeeper Danilo Abayo Wilson would make two impressive saves in less than two minutes, around the 30-minute mark. The Bobcats nearly went ahead 2-0, not long after their first goal, but the forward who took the shot was called offside.
 
With less than five minutes remaining in the first half, NDC stole all the momentum with a goal to tie the game. Freshman Alex Greaves lobbed a perfectly placed pass to senior Evans Armah who bumped the ball with his body to Sato for the goal.
 
In the first half, Notre Dame outshot W.Va. Wesleyan, 11-3. The second stanza was not much different as NDC launched 12 shots, while the Bobcats totaled three.
 
Sato struck again in the 51st minute. Sophomore Jared Rimmer sent the ball in and Sato jumped and swung the leg to send the ball past WVWC's keeper Bryant Sheffield, all in one motion.
 
Sato continues his incredible goal scoring streak. He has now scored two goals in each of the last three games and has had a two-goal performance in four of the last five contests. On the season, the native of Tokyo, Japan already has a total of nine.
 
Two minutes later, Notre Dame had a corner kick. As they have so many times this season, NDC converted on the set piece and scored again. Junior David Kolar headed the ball off the corner, but Sheffield punched it away. O'Reilly wasted no time gathering it in and firing a shot past everyone to give NDC a 3-1 lead.
 
NDC was not content with the two-goal lead and added on. In the 71st minute, a long free kick into the attacking third set the Falcons up. Armah came away with the ball but slipped on the grass, which caused Sheffield to come out in an attempt to grab the ball. But Armah, still on the ground, sent a pass to sophomore Guilherme Wanderley, who scored the fourth goal of the match.
 
Armah has now recorded two assists in two different games this year.
 
Max Evans snuck the ball past Wilson for the Bobcats' second goal of the game, marking just the second time this season that an opponent scored more than one goal against Notre Dame.
 
However, less than a minute later, the Falcons' offense responded. A bouncing ball in the 83rd minute was misplayed by W.Va. Wesleyan and freshman Will Couch took advantage, taking the possession and beating a defender down the field for the goal.
 
The Falcons took 12 shots on goal, which is the second-most in a game this season. Over the last three games, the Falcons have totaled 19 goals.
 
Notre Dame comes home to face Concord University, with a 3 p.m. kickoff, on Sunday.