In a road contest, Notre Dame College lost to West Virginia Wesleyan College by a final score of 1-0 on Thursday evening as Juwon Akintunde scored the only goal of the game.
The Falcons (3-2, 1-1 MEC) lost their first conference game of the season and were shutout for the first time this year. The Bobcats (4-0-1, 3-0) have shutout every opponent that they have beaten in 2017 and advance to 2-6-2 all-time against Notre Dame.
NDC tried to come out of the gates aggressively, taking three shots by the nine-and-a-half minute mark. Senior Leonardo Paiva had the best look at the goal, taking a shot that goalkeeper Alessandro Armenia had to save.
The Bobcats were the first to strike and found the back of the net as Akintunde scored the goal, just before the 10 minute mark. For Akintunde, who was just named the MEC Offensive Player of the Week, the goal was his seventh of the season. Paul Smith was credited with the assist.
With about 12 minutes to go in the half, Notre Dame had two good chances over a two minute span when junior Joao Pedro Ribas de Oliveira and sophomore Guilherme Gloria Albuquerque each had a shot on goal.
At the halftime break, the Falcons had taken five shots on goal while the Bobcats only shot on goal was the ball that found the back of the net.
In the 60th minute, Paiva took two shots in less than 10 seconds but both were blocked. In the 86th minute, junior David Torralba Perez had a shot on goal that did not get past the goal keeper.
“We created some very good chances and attempted to play attacking soccer on a poor surface,” head coach Carl Nolan said. “The players know they deserved more from this tonight and this experience will make them stronger.”
NDC took 14 shots and eight shots on goal. The six different players that took at least one shot also had a shot on goal. Paiva had five shots in the game.
WVWC only had five players who took at least one shot in the game. Matthew Bentley took three shots and two shots on goal. Akintunde took two shots in the game. Armenia recorded eight saves. He has 16 saves on the season.
“I think the player’s discipline was first rate and I cannot wait to get this team back on the field,” Nolan said, looking forward to the upcoming schedule.
Notre Dame will take on Concord University at home on September 17. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. on Mueller Field.
