NDC pulls rank on Rio
Falcons earn national ranking, draw at AMC powerhouse

RIO GRANDE, Ohio – Notre Dame battled Rio Grande to a 2-2 draw Wednesday night in a battle between an up-and-coming American Mideast Conference (AMC) power and the old guard establishment. The Falcons earned the tie on the road, their first ever point against the Redmen, just hours after earning a spot on the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Top-25 poll, which is released each Wednesday during the season.

The senior midfielder has now scored in three straight matches.	Klick scored the match tying goal with four minutes to play on Wednesday.

Notre Dame (9-2-2, 2-0 AMC-N) twice battled back from one-goal deficits in the match against the seven-tie defending AMC champions. Danny Bartulovic (Sr/Gates Mills, OH) and Steve Klick (Sr/Eastlake, OH) scored the two NDC goals, which were the first the Blue & Gold has scored against Rio Grande (7-4-1) in four meetings. The tie continues a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) for NDC, while halting a three-game winning streak for URG.

The first half of the game Wednesday was a defensive struggle for both squads, with Rio Grande taking a 1-0 lead into halftime after a Ryan Baxter (Sr/Todmorden, England) header in the 24th minute of play. Notre Dame tied the game at 1-1 14 minutes into the second frame, when Jonathan Morris (So/Huddersfield, England) and Bartulovic hooked up on a goal.  Morris fed Bartulovic with a fine pass and Bartulovic did the rest, beating Rio Grande freshman goalkeeper Ray Nicaise (Humeltown, PA) on a header.

Rio regained the lead 17 minutes later, when they took a 2-1 lead on a Darren Griffiths (Fr/Swansea, Wales) goal. The score remained 2-1 until Klick banged home a free kick with four minutes remaining in regulation.

Neither team had many chances in either overtime. For the game, URG held a slight 12-10 edge in shots, with both teams collecting seven shots on goal. Each goalkeeper tallied five saves on the evening.

The tie against the well-respected Redman continues a streak of excellent play for the Falcons; NDC topped NCAA-I Cleveland State Sep. 19, won at No. 24 Houghton (NY) Sep. 29, defeated No. 2 (NCAA-III) Case Western Reserve Oct. 2, and beat regionally-ranked Roberts Wesleyan (NY) Oct. 6.

Those quality performances by a well-balanced NDC squad earned the program's first national ranking since Nov., 2005, when Wednesday's Top-25 was released. NDC earned 29 points in the poll, which ranks 25th in the nation.

"This was a good day for our program," said NDC Head Coach Michael "Mac" McBride. "In the morning, we had two players honored as AMC Player of the Week. In the afternoon, we received word of our national ranking. And this evening, we battled back against one of the most respected squads in the NAIA. This has been a total team effort - every player in our program and every coach on our staff is part of this."

NDC will next defend their ranking Saturday, Oct. 13, when they host Daemen-NY (4-6-1, 0-0-1) at Korb Field. Kickoff is slated for 1:00pm as the second half of a Women's-Men's doubleheader.

Notes from the Nest...

NDC sweeps weekly AMC award: Midfielder Danny Bartulovic and goalkeeper Craig Pickering (So/Newcastle, England) were named AMC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, by the league on Wednesday (for the period Oct. 1-7). Bartulovic scored the game-winner in two matches last week, including a 1-0 shutout of No. 2 (NCAA-III) CWRU. Pickering pitched two shutouts by stopping 11 shots. The awards mark the second and third times that NDC players have been recognized by the 13-team AMC through the first five weeks of the season.

Four for "eight": Bartulovic (No. 8) scored his fourth goal of the season Wednesday on his second-half header. The senior from Gates Mills has now scored a goal in three straight matches.

National treasure: The Falcons' No. 25 national ranking marks the program's second-ever appearance in the NAIA Top-25. NDC's highest-ever ranking, No. 17, was achieved in Oct. 2005.