The first half was a very evenly contested half that appeared to be headed to the break scoreless as both defenses were up to the task. Then, in the 43rd minute, the Falcons (14-3-2) were able to get on the scoreboard when Steven Kane scored off an assist from Tom Mellor to give No. 2 seed Notre Dame a 1-0 lead.

MVNU (13-6-2), the No. 4 seed, worked hard to equalize in the second half, but neither team would score again as the lone goal would prevail as the game-winner for the Falcons.

Notre Dame held a 14-11 advantage in total shots while shots on goal were even at 5-5. The Falcons also held a slight edge in corner kicks at 7-5.

Senior goalie Alex Stout stopped three shots in goal for the Cougars, while Craig Pickering and Alex Klein combined to stop three shots for Notre Dame in posting the shutout.

"It is very disappointing because I know that our guys were set on wanting to return to the NAIA national tournament and we came so close,” said MVNU coach Paul Furey. "We certainly played with a lot of heart and determination today, but we had one lapse late in the first period that turned out to be the difference in the match on the scoreboard. We came out of the gate very strong and had some great chances early. If we could have converted one of those, it certainly would have made a big difference in the result.”

"Our guys never quit and kept battling against a very strong, tough team,” Furey added. "We almost equalized late, but we just came up a goal short. I am very proud of their effort. They represented our university tremendously. We can be proud that we were back in the conference tournament championship for two years straight.”

MVNU will now switch gears and take part in the National Christian College Athletic Association East Region Tournament at Geneva (Pa.) College next weekend. The four-team, two-day event will kick off on Friday with semifinal matches featuring the Cougars versus Nyack (N.Y.) College and Roberts Wesleyan taking on the host Golden Tornadoes. Start times have yet to be announced for the semifinal matches, and the championship match would then take place on Saturday with the winner receiving a berth in the NCCAA National Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla.