ELKINS, W.Va. -- A late push for number 11 Davis & Elkins men's soccer made things interesting down the stretch as No. 21 Notre Dame (Ohio) advanced to the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship on Wednesday night with a 2-1 decision at a blustery Nuttall Field. 

With goals coming in the 11th and 50th minutes, Notre Dame (7-2) jumped ahead and staved off the final surge for Davis & Elkins (7-2). 

THE RUNDOWN 

• Final Score: Notre Dame College 2, Davis & Elkins 1 
• Records: Davis & Elkins (7-2) | Notre Dame (Ohio) (7-2) 
• Location: Nuttall Field - Elkins, W.Va. (MEC Semifinals)

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• After a few minutes elapsed with the teams looking to strike on the counter attack, NDC raced ahead in transition, playing a ball from the midfield to a cutting Malvin Gblah. Gblah gathered the ball, dribbled around on the right side of the box toward the middle and labeled a left-footed shot into the cage as the visitors moved ahead 1-0 in the 11th minute. 
• Moments after a corner kick for the Senators, Daniel Cerezo placed a shot wide in the 20th minute. 
• Play slowed as winter weather moved into the area, including a heavy snow squall that blanketed the field and made footing difficult for both sides. 
• The Senators worked into position for the first scoring chance in the second half with Matteo Ghezzi firing off an attempt stopped by NDC keeper Pedro Alvez along the snow-covered turf. 
• Evans Armah doubled the Falcons' lead to 2-0 with a strike in the 50th minute. Ghezzi worked into position for another shot, pushing the ball wide to the right just over one minute after falling behind 2-0. 
• D&E dictated possession in response in desperate search of a tally to climb back in, receiving several corner chances. 
• Gianluca Fiorini sliced the deficit in half after placing a shot through traffic into the bottom right corner of the net in the 82nd minute. Following the goal,  Alvez was shown a yellow card for delaying play with the Senators looking to restart quickly down by just one. 
• Trailing 2-1, D&E looked to take its game to another level in search of the equalizer, but NDC maintained its strong defense to preserve the victory. 

NEWS AND NOTES

• Fiorini fired home his second goal of the season. He added three assists in his first season at D&E, finishing tied for second on the squad with seven points in addition to his stout defense. 
• NDC pushed ahead 2-0 in the home opener for D&E back on February 28, a contest where the Senators posted three unanswered goals to snag a comeback victory with a 3-2 final tally. 
• Gblah and Armah, the two goal scorers for NDC, accounted for two shots each. Slow field conditions made things tricky as each side posted four shots on the evening. 
• Davis & Elkins won five consecutive to close out the regular season. The Senators entered the MEC Semifinals with their lone loss coming to top-ranked and defending national champion Charleston (W.Va.) back in March. 
• The Senators, ranked 11th entering the conference tournament, were ranked as high as nine in the US Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll this season. Meanwhile, Notre Dame worked its way into the top 25, slotting at number 21 in the most recent poll. 
• NDC advances to the MEC Championship for the second consecutive season with the win. The Falcons will visit Charleston, which dispatched West Virginia Wesleyan by a 3-0 count in the other semifinal. 

UP NEXT 

• Davis & Elkins men's soccer returns for the new season in the fall. 

 
 

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