Back in elite eight
Niagara qualifies for Ontario men’s college soccer championships for third year in a row
Jordi Amores scored two goals and only a poorly executed tackle prevented Sam Robson from earning the shutout in his first start in three games as Niagara qualified for the men’s college soccer championships for the third year in a row.
Amores, a Niagara Falls native and a Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School graduate, buried a free kick from 20 yards five minutes into Sunday’s match with Welland to give the Knights a lead they would never relinquish in a 3-1 victory over the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) Eagles. Amores, the college’s top male athlete for the week ending Sunday, converted a pass from Carlos Williams and netted the eventual game winner 58 minutes.
David Fimiak 12 minutes after that, with his first goal for the Knights, rounded out the scoring for Niagara in the cross-over playoff qualifier.
“We were very happy for David today, as he is one of our best players and deserved to be seen on the gamesheet,” said Knights head coach Frank DeChellis, who along with assistant Rino Berardi coached Fimiak in the under 12 to under 16 ranks. “We have always liked what he brings to the table.
“He read the play, jumped in, won the ball, beat a play 1-versus-1, executed a wall pass from Andrew Currie to find himself alone in the box and finished like a champ.
“It was a how-to-play soccer video all in one.”
Every one of the Knights was needed to keep the score in Niagara’s favour in the must-win game.
“UTM came at us like we owed them money,” DeChellis said. “The pressure was immediate, physical and ambitious.
“I believe they felt they needed to take chances in order to win that game and we took advantage of that.”
Defender Anu Makinwa felt the Knights moved the ball “extremely well” given the pressure the Eagles were applying on the pitch.
“Throughout the season we always told ourselves we can beat anybody in this league and we proved it today against a very tough and battle-tested UTM squad.”
A 2-1 victory over the visiting Redeemer Royals in the final game of the regular season gave Niagara home-field advantage for the playoff qualifier.
Notre Dame alum Jake Therrien, 30 minutes in; and Connor Diacurs, at the 75-minute mark; scored for the Knights to give rookie Nolan Bradshaw a victory in his first start in goal for Niagara.
The Knights travel to Peterborough Wednesday where the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) championships get underway the following day.
Niagara will open provincials Thursday at noon against the George Brown Huskies in a rematch of last year’s bronze medal game.
Niagara has yet to medal in men’s soccer at provincials.
Knights stung by Sting
Niagara’s hopes for a berth in the women’s college soccer championships were dashed by the secondbest team in Ontario.
The Seneca Sting, on their home pitch by virtue of their 9-2-1 record in league play; tripled the 4-4-2 Knights 6-2 to qualify for the OCAA championships starting Thursday in Sudbury.
The Sting stung early and were up 2-0 after 20 minutes, and it only got worse for Niagara after that. Starting goalkeeper Alexis Hebert was knocked out of game at the 25- minute mark and had to be replaced by thirdstringer Kaylee Bouley.
Bethany Langendoen and Renee LaFrance scored second-half goals for the Knights, with team captain Shannon Halliday striking the post on a free kick. Rob Lalama felt his first season as Niagara head coach was a success despite Sunday’s disappointing loss in Toronto.
“We are a young team that will continue to improve,” he said. “We will have the bulk of our roster back, and we will continue to build the program.”
Hebert earned her fifth shutout and fellow rookie Michelle Maecker and Langendoen each scored a goal as the Knights blanked Redeemer 2-0 to close out the regular season at home. Langendoen was selected as Niagara’s top female athlete for the past week.
“Bethany played very well this week,” Lalama said. “It was a nice way to finish off her collegiate career.”
The second-year forward from St. Catharines played high school soccer at Heritage Christian. She will graduate from the college’s pre-health sciences program in April.
Sixth man top scorer
Dey sean Thompson scored a game high 18 points off the bench and had eight rebounds to help Niagara top visiting Mohawk 70-60 to open the men’s college basketball season.
Starters Levi Mukuna, with 17 points, five rebounds; Van Hutchinson Jr., 14 points, nine rebounds; and Jordon McDonald, 13 points, 15 rebounds; reached double digits in scoring for the Knights in Mike Hurley’s first regular season as Niagara head coach.
“Both teams started out slow in the first half,” Hurley said. “Maybe it was the nerves playing in our first league game.
“As we figured each other out, both teams were able to put together some runs.”
He was excited to open the season at home with a win.
“I also understand we have lots of work ahead of us and look forward to the challenge of the tough OCAA West Division.”
Niagara returns to the court Wednesday in Mississauga for a game against the UTM Eagles, who dropped an 84-43 decision to the Lambton Lions in their season opener on the road.
Experience trumps youth
Niagara tipped off the women’s college basketball season on the wrong end of a 70-65 score.
Despite the 1-2 punch of Mary Ingribelli, 23 points, six rebounds, two steals; and Courtney Kilyk, 22 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, three steals; the Knights came up short on their home court against the defending silver medallist Mountaineers.
Head coach Mike Beccaria found more than a few positives the team should be able to build on.
“We are a young athletic team trying to find our way in the touch OCAA West,” he said. “We are, of course, disappointed with the final score but understand Mohawk returns five starters from a silver medal team.
“The coaches and players are confident that at the end of our long season we’ll be in the mix for a medal.”
Niagara visits the UTM Eagles, 1-0; Wednesday in Mississauga.
Regional bragging rights
United Way was the big winner when Niagara College played Brock University in men’s volleyball.
While the Knights were swept 3-0 by the Badgers, Niagara head coach Nathan Groenveld welcomed the opportunity to compete in the charity game.
“This game is a highlight for our student athletes every year as we get to play a good game for the United Way.”
He said the Knights showed some flashes of “great play” in the second and third sets, they also missed 19 serves and had 17 hitting errors.
“That puts you behind the 8-ball pretty quick,” Groenveld said. “I was looking for us to settle in and we did a bit, but it never looked comfortable out there for us.”
League play for the Knights gets underway against the Cambrian Gold Friday night and versus the Boreal Viperes the following afternoon, both in Sudbury.