The host Falcons (6-2-1), who are ranked third in the region in the most recent ranking and have claimed at least a share of the American Mideast Conference North Division crown the past three years, held an 8-5 advantage in shots through the first 45 minutes of the match, but the contest went to the half still scoreless.

In the second half, the Cougars (7-2-0), who are fifth in this week’s region rankings, out-shot Notre Dame 5-4, but again neither squad was able to find the back of the net as the non-conference match moved into a 10-minute overtime period.

Two minutes and 32 seconds into the extra session, MVNU junior forward Adam Worrall (left) took a throw-in from freshman midfielder Cody Snouffer and worked his way through a couple of defenders. After breaking free for a one-on-one opportunity with Falcons’ goalkeeper Craig Pickering, Worrall got the ball past him and chipped in a two-yard shot for the game-winner. The goal was Worrall’s team-leading eighth of the season to match his own single-season career-high set during his freshman year. It was also the 20th goal of his three-year career with the Cougars.

Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Stout (right) posted five saves in goal for MVNU to notch his third shutout of the year, while Pickering stopped four shots for Notre Dame. The Falcons, who lost at home for the first time this season, held a 12-11 advantage in total shots with both teams having five shots on goal. The Cougars posted an 8-3 edge in corner kicks.

“This is one of the biggest wins we’ve had in a number of years beating a very solid team in Notre Dame,” said MVNU head coach Paul Furey. “We really just played superb soccer and I don’t use that term very often. We played just such a solid match defensively. Our back line just did a tremendous job in limiting a very fast and technical team.”

“Alex did a great job for us in goal,” Furey added. “He did all the little things right and made all the saves when we needed him to come up big. Our midfield worked really hard and our back line of Matt (Wilging), Brady (Swanson), Zach (Patterson), and Tyler (Warwick) are really to be commended along with Alex. We just showed great resiliency to keep battling and keep competing and we eventually got the game-winner. Adam once again came up really big for us and showed the kind of player that he to help us beat a very good team.”

The Cougars will return to action on Friday afternoon when MVNU travels to Shawnee State University for an AMC South Division match at Shawnee State University. Kick-off is slated for 3:00 p.m.

“This was a great win for us and we want to see if we can build on this,” said Furey. “This is a good sign of hopefully something very special for this season.”