Box Score

The Malone University men's soccer team suffered a 2-0 defeat Thursday night in its Ohio Independent Championship semifinal-round match at Notre Dame College.  The Falcons, seeded first among the four-team OIC tournament field, found the back of the net in the 23rd minute to take an early 1-0 advantage.  The score then remained unchanged until the 77th minute when Notre Dame tacked on another goal to secure the postseason triumph.  With Thursday's victory over the fourth-seeded Pioneers, the Falcons kept their undefeated season intact, improving to 17-0 overall.  Malone, meanwhile, slipped to 10-9 following just its second shutout loss of the year.

Notre Dame will now advance to host Saturday's OIC Championship game against second-seeded Walsh University.  The Cavaliers rallied to top third-seeded Cedarville University 2-1 in Thursday's other semifinal match up.

The Falcons held a 33-11 advantage in total shots and a narrow 8-7 edge in shots on goal over the course of the evening.  Pioneer keeper Felipe Monteiro registered six saves while NDC netminder Alex Klein stopped all seven shots he faced.

Malone will now move on to compete as the top seed in the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) East Region Tournament.  The Pioneers earned the top seed in the three-team event and are slated to host the East Region Championship Game against the winner of a semifinal contest betwen third-seeded Houghton (NY) College and second-seeded Geneva (PA) College.  The regional championship contest will be held on  Saturday, November 19th at 2:00 p.m. on the turf field located at nearby GlenOak High School.  The NCCAA East Region Tournament Champion earns an automatic bid to the NCCAA National Tournament, scheduled to be held Nov. 30- Dec. 3 in Kissimmee, Florida.