Falcons catch a wave
Shutout wins net Crimson crown

Natalie Bernot scored the Falcons’ goal. She now has three goals this season

WHITING, Ind. – Over the weekend, Notre Dame kicked off a new season in fine fashion.  With a pair of shutout victories, the Falcons captured the championship of the Crimson Wave Invitational.   The four-team invitational tournament was held in Whiting, Indiana, and hosted by Calumet College of St. Joseph (IN).

Saturday
Notre Dame (2-0) reached the tournament final with an excellent performance in their 2007 opener on Saturday, with a 3-0 shutout win over Iowa Wesleyan. 

Natalie Bernot (Jr/Mentor, OH) led NDC with two goals in her debut as a Falcon.  Lisa Good (So/Sandusky, OH) added a goal for Notre Dame, which tallied three scores with four shots on net.

The Falcon defense held the Tigers in check all game – Newcomer Emilie LaMarche (Fr/Rockland, ONT) stopped all three shots she faced to earn the shutout.

Bernot scored the Falcons’ first two goals of the game, at five minutes and again at 11.  Good added her tally in the second period.

Nikki Tizzano (Jr/Mentor, OH) and Breanne Hunter (So/London, ONT) notched assists for NDC, which won its season opener for the first time since 2004.

Sunday
NDC reprised their shutout performance Sunday by blanking Culver-Stockton (MO), 4-0.

LaMarche was again in goal for the Falcons in the Crimson Wave finale.  And in the championship game, the Falcons took it to the Wildcats on both ends of the field.

Megan Wydra (Jr/North Royalton, OH) scored two goals for NDC.  Lisa Good and Jessica Mazzorato (So/London, ONT) each added one goal apiece.

For the two days in Indiana, three Notre Dame players earned recognition on the Crimson Wave All-Tournament team: Wydra, Hunter, and Nicole Primmer (Sr/Strongsville, OH).

A fourth player, Natalie Bernot, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.  Bernot, Good, and Wydra all finished the weekend with two goals to their name.

The pair of wins gives the Falcons a 2-0 record to start the season for the first time since 2002.  The Royal & Gold are slated to continue their season Wednesday, Sep. 5, with their home opener.  The Falcons will host Shawnee State at Korb Field in Lyndhurst beginning at 7:00pm.

Notes from the Nest…

Falcons fill in the blank: Notre Dame notched back-to-back shutout wins for the first time since last September, when the Falcons defeated Point Park (PA) and Carlow (PA) at home.  The victories in Indiana were NDC’s first back-to-back road/neutral site shutout wins since 2001.

Back to the nest: Head Coach Mike Shiels and the Falcons will be looking to reverse recent trends when they play their home opener Wednesday.  NDC has dropped four of their last five home debuts, including the openers in 2005 and 2006. 

Undefeated and unscored upon:  Shawnee State comes to town Wednesday on the heels of three consecutive shutout victories, so both teams will come into the match with unblemished records – no losses or goals allowed.  SSU was 8-7-2 in 2006.