NDC gets their kicks
Penalty kicks break tie for tourney championship

WHITING, Ind. - Notre Dame started their season with an undefeated weekend in Indiana. Saturday and Sunday, the Falcons competed in the Crimson Wave Invitational hosted by Calumet College of St. Joseph. NDC came away with a win, a draw, a penalty kick win, and the tournament's championship trophy.

Saturday
Notre Dame (1-0-1) won Saturday, 2-0, over Culver-Stockton (MO) to advance to Sunday’s final against St. Ambrose (IA).  Saturday’s match against the Wildcats was NDC’s season opener.

A strong Falcon defense stifled Culver-Stockton’s offense throughout the contest.  The Royal & Gold did not allow a shot on goal against goalkeeper Craig Pickering (So/Newcastle. England), who went the distance.  The Falcons tallied one score in each period to earn the shutout. 

Greg Carroll (Jr/Dunfermline, Scotland) opened the scoring with a goal at the 32-minute mark.  Nick Jordan added an insurance goal in the second period, finding the back of the net at the 83-minute mark.

For the match, Notre Dame outshot Culver-Stockton, 19-2, and put four shots on goal.

Sunday
That win put the Falcons in the title game of the Crimson Wave Invitational Sunday evening. In that tilt, the Falcons would battle the Fighting Bees to a 2-2 draw through 110 minutes of play (regulation plus two overtimes).

In the Sunday finale, James Wood (Jr/Barnsley, England) scored the Falcons' first goal with an assist from Andrew Carr (Jr/Preston, England). Later in the game, with NDC down 2-1, Carr scored the equalizer with an assist from Jonothan Morris (So/Huddersfield, England).

Pickering would repeat his fine performance in goal for the Falcons, as he had in the NDC opener a day before. The sophomore stopper collected a pair of saves on four shots faced. Pickering then held off the Fighting Bees in the penalty kicks used to determine the tournament champ.

In Sunday's match, Notre Dame outshot St. Ambrose (1-0-1), 17-10, and put 11 shots on goal.

Three Falcons were recognized with All-Tournament nods for their play over the weekend. Greg Carroll and Boris Smoljan (Jr/Jajce, Croatia) earned spots on the Crimson Wave All-Tournament Team. For his play between the pipes, Pickering was named the event's Most Outstanding Player.

The Falcons will look to extend their undefeated record on Wednesday, Sep. 5, when they travel to Ashland to face the Eagles (0-3-0). Wednesday's match is scheduled to begin at 4:00pm. The Falcons then return to the nest for their first home match on Sunday, Sep. 9 (vs. St. Francis-IL).