FRESNO, Calif. -- Notre Dame has advanced to the Elite Eight of the NAIA National Tournament for the second time in program history. The Falcons secured the coveted spot with a stellar performance in the first half, defeating the Benedictine Ravens, 3-1, at Ramirez Field on Tuesday afternoon. (Box)

Freshmen midfielder #Tom Mellor#, sophomore striker #Luke Holmes# and freshman midfielder #Christian Earnest# secured the victory for No.7 Notre Dame in the first 45 minutes. Raven midfielder Keith Parkhurst scored No. 10 Benedictine's lone goal on a penalty kick in the second half. Minutes earlier, NDC goalie #Craig Pickering# had saved another PK by striker Sean Lewis.

Adjusting to their initial nervousness and the less than perfect pitch conditions, both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the opening 10 minutes of the match. Mellor took the first shot in the third minute, but Raven goalie Tanner Fox blocked his only mildly threatening attempt.

Three minutes later Holmes missed a much better opportunity, when he picked up a deflected shot inside the box, curved around Tanner to put the leather just left of the wide open goal.

The Ravens took their first shot in the 13th minute. But midfielder Casey Smith missed the net by several feet.

Notre Dame outshot Benedictine, 6-1, in the first 15 minutes. Pickering didn't make his first save until the 20th. But the netkeeper, who suffered a broken nose just two weeks earlier, would become busier as Benedictine now picked up the pace.

Parkhurst narrowly missed a shot from distance in the 20th and midfielder Alex Smith's attempt was blocked right in front of the goal line in the 23rd.

Half an hour into the match, the Falcons' lead in shots had shrunk to 9-7. At a time when the Ravens seemed close to scoring the opening goal, Mellor broke the deadlock for the Falcons instead.

After freshmen striker #Erik Beattie# went down for a free kick in the 32nd minute, Mellor put the ball down in center position about 24 yards away from the Raven goal. Taking a few quick steps, he curved the leather around the five-man Benedictine wall and smashed it into the bottom left corner past Fox who dove for a save but couldn't stop this beautifully crafted free kick.

Only two minutes later, Mellor stormed past the Benedictine defense with one of his many quick dribblings down the left line. Beating three Ravens in the process, he set up Holmes who fired a shot from a difficult angle to beat Fox, who couldn't get enough force behind his attempted save, for the 2-0 lead.

With these two quick goals, Notre Dame was back in control and now dominated the Ravens. Holmes added a third goal in 41st but was denied when the referee decided he had been offside.

There was, however, no question about Earnest's goal only three minutes later. With a minute left in the first period midfielder #Jonathan Morris# curved a beautiful cross into the back of the Benedictine defense. There it found Earnest who powerfully headed the ball into the bottom left corner for a comfortable 3-0 halftime lead.

What should have been a relatively calm second half for Notre Dame Head Coach #Michael McBride# turned out more exciting than “Mac” had hoped for.

Benedictine pushed for a quick goal to find a way back into the match. Lewis missed the first opportunity in the 48th when his shot from 20 yards went over the crossbar. Three minutes later the senior forward tested Pickering with a free kick from 25 yards.

In the 59th minute, Lewis missed his best opportunity yet. NDC defender #Jacob Child# had taken down Lewis inside the penalty area and the striker took the resulting penalty kick himself. But Pickering picked the right corner and dove for a nice save that required him to re-adjust the protective facemask he was wearing.

In the 72nd minute, Pickering once again came face to face with a penalty taker after a Falcon defender had played the ball with his hand inside the penalty box. This time Parkhurst tested Pickering. The keeper once again chose the right corner, but couldn't get down fast enough to save Parkhurst's powerful shot – 3-1.

Notre Dame had a few good opportunities in the second period. The Falcons were especially dangerous on breakaways. But during the final 15 minutes of the match, the Blue & White were more concerned with defending their two-goal lead.

Benedictine tried to force the seemingly impossible equalizer and several times just barely missed the Falcon goal. Parkhurst with a shot hitting the post (76th) and midfielder Joe Montgomery saved by Pickering gave away the best opportunities.

Despite having been outshot, 24-18, the Falcons celebrated a deserving victory based on a strong first half showing.

“Luke Holmes was exceptional today and Tom Mellor was on fire in the first half. But overall I am especially pleased with our performance as a team,” McBride said. “We were very focused and moved the ball well. Obviously, we saw two very different periods today. But that's to be expected when you play a good team like Benedictine.”

McBride's squad will now attempt to reach the Final Four for the first time in program history, taking on The Master's College (Calif.) tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET. The No. 15-seeded Mustangs defeated Indiana Tech, 1-0, on Monday.

“I told the lads that we aren't finished and that we didn't come here to leave early,” McBride said. “We are representing our conference very well. But tomorrow we will play the strongest team from the strongest conference. It's David vs. Goliath really. But we will roll up our sleeves and have a go.”


NOTES FROM THE NEST…

FIRST THINGS FIRST: Notre Dame has now scored the first goal in 18 of its 21 games this season. The Falcons are 15-1-2 in these matches.

CENTER STAGE: Luke Holmes is at the center of the highest scoring Falcon offense in program history. Notre Dame has scored a record 94 goals this season, making the Blue & White the highest scoring team in the NAIA this year. Holmes, the 2009 AMC Player of the Year, has scored 29 of those goals, more than any other player in the NAIA.

ELITE EIGHT, THE SECOND: Notre Dame has reached the Elite Eight of the NAIA National Tournament once before. During their first national appearance in 2005, the Falcons defeated Simon Fraser, 2-1, in Daytona Beach, Fla. to advance to this stage. The Blue & White's run ended among the Elite Eight with a 1-0 loss to Southern Nazarene.

MEET THE MASTER'S: The Mustangs of The Master's College in Santa Clarita won both the regular season and conference tournament titles in the Golden State Athletic Conference. They were ranked No. 7 in the final NAIA Coaches' Poll. With 18 wins this season, The Master's is tops among active teams in this year's NAIA Championship field. The Mustangs advanced to the national tournament for the first time in 17 years.