Ohio Wesleyan 11, Notre Dame 10

March 26, 2009

Senior midfielder Hannah Mudge (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's School) scored 3 goals and junior midfielder Jessica Copeland (Ligonier, Pa./Foxcroft (Va.)) added 2 more to help Ohio Wesleyan build an 8-4 halftime lead, and the Bishops held off a frantic Notre Dame rally to defeat the Falcons in non-conference action on Thursday at Selby Field.

Mudge put the Bishops on the scoreboard just over a minute into the game, and after a score by sophomore midfielder Marlowe Mavian (Columbus/Wellington), Mudge found junior attacker Elizabeth Lambert (Alexandria, Va.) for a 3-0 Bishop lead.

Notre Dame got on the board on Katie Christensen's goal with 19:04 left in the half, but Mudge fielded a pass from junior midfielder Haleigh Rohr (Nelson, N.H./Northfield Mt. Hermon (Mass.)) right off the ensuing draw and scored to make it 4-1, and Copeland followed with an unassisted goal to give the Bishops a 5-1 lead.

The Falcons pulled to within 5-4, getting a goal from Staci Myrup before the combination of Molly Merrill-to-Jen Hrobuchak clicked twice.

Ohio Wesleyan answered with 3 straight goals of its own, collecting a Mavian goal, a free-position score from Mudge, and Copeland's goal in the closing seconds of the half for an 8-4 lead at the break.

Christensen opened the second-half scoring just 19 seconds into the period, but Ohio Wesleyan responded with goals from junior defender Lauren Rogers (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) and Mavian, and after a goal by Marisa Rainieri brought the Falcons within 10-6, junior midfielder Abbey Miller (Woolwich, Maine/Morse) answered for Ohio Wesleyan, giving the Bishops an 11-6 lead with 13:02 left in regulation time.

Notre Dame rallied with a pair of goals from Merrill, the latter closing the deficit to 11-8 with 2:17 left in the game. Hrobuchak converted a free-position shot with 1:10 left to bring the Falcons within 11-9, and Notre Dame won the ensuing draw and got a goal by Christensen to pull within 11-10 with :49 to go.

The Falcons had a chance to tie the game, but Merrill's shot was stopped by Ohio Wesleyan freshman Liz Searfos (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) with less than 20 seconds to play, and the Bishops were able to run out the clock.

Mudge led the Bishops with 3 goals and 2 assists, while Mavian scored 3 goals and Copeland had 2 goals.

Searfos finished with 10 saves, recording 9 of those during the second half.

Hrobuchak and Christensen scored 3 goals apiece for Notre Dame, with Merrill finishing with 2 goals and 3 assists.

Ally Phillips recorded 6 saves for the Falcons.

Box Score