Medal shows their mettle
Niagara College regroups to win bronze at women’s soccer championship
After making history at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Women’s Soccer Championship, the Niagara Knights were determined not to become history.
Instead of allowing themselves to become preoccupied with what-ifs and if-onlys after a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in overtime to the Humber Hawks in the semifinal round on Saturday, the Knights regrouped and rebounded to edge the host Durham Lords by the same score the following day to win the bronze medal.
Niagara finished the eight-team tournament in Oshawa with a 2-1 record after going winless in previous trips to provincials.
Humber forced overtime when it connected on a free kick at the 90minute mark after the Knights were assessed a penalty.
Head coach Rob Lalama described the loss to the eventual gold medallist as “heartbreaking.”
“You don’t ever want to have sour grapes but I believe the two free kicks that were called I believe the penalties were questionable,” he said. “But that’s the game, right?”
The coaching staff was worried it wouldn’t be able to shift focus to the next game after such a devastating loss that not only denied Niagara at least a silver medal but a berth in the national championships in Saint-Lambert, Que.
“That was the concern, trying to motivate them for the next game,” Lalama said. “But I’m going to be honest with you, the first thing from the girls after losing a heartbreaker was ‘We’re not going home without a medal.’
“That’s kind of encouraging for a coach.”
On Sunday, Morgan Morgado, 8:03, and Sydney Sica, 10:55, staked the Knights to a lead, but the Lords, who were rebounding from a 3-2 loss in overtime to the Seneca Sting in the semifinals, scored twice with
less than two minutes early in the second half to tie the game.
Niagara regained the lead on Rylan Greatrix’s assisted goal 81:04 into the game, but that did not end the drama. Like Humber the day before, Durham found itself in a position to force overtime when it was awarded a free kick with a minute remaining in regulation.
“My heart dropped, honestly. I was really praying that there was no déjà vu, I was praying that it would either miss or a save or hit me in the face in the wall,” Sica recalled with a chuckle.
Despite the program’s first medal in soccer, the season ended on a “sad” note for Sica, who is among the players on the Niagara roster ineligible to return for another season
“It’s sad. This sport has brought me so many tears over my life,” the Niagara Falls native and Saint Michael Catholic High School graduate said. “At least we ended with a bronze medal, but there is always that sadness because we were so close to making it to that final game.”
Sica, who at the championship banquet was named the OCAA women’s soccer player of the year for the second year in a row, found it difficult to forget about the loss to Humber in the semifinal round.
“It was tough. I’m probably going to be upset about it for the next month,” she said. “It was a great game, though. Everyone on our team put in a great effort, everyone gave 100 per cent the whole time.
“I don’t blame anyone. I would say it was just bad luck, bad calls that ended up leading to that loss.”
Sica shared credit for her Niagara College record for regular season, 12; playoff, eight; and career, 21, goals with her teammates.
“I couldn’t have done that without my teammates,” she said. “It is an accomplishment for myself, but it also an accomplishment for my teammates because there are 10 other people on the field who make those passes to me that play with me and the ball.
“It’s really a team effort.”
She will graduate from the nursing program in June and intends to begin working in a hospital setting after that.
Sica will continue to play soccer at the competitive level with the League 1 Roma Wolves in the summer.
“I also play pickup soccer now and then with some friends.”
Before transferring to the region’s community college for the final two seasons of post-secondary eligibility, Sica played one year at the former Ryerson University, now Toronto Metropolitan University, and two at Brock University.
Niagara could lose as many as 10 players from this year’s team, but nine are expected to return.
“I never finish recruiting or stop recruiting,” Lalama said. “If my recruiting works out, I think we will be very competitive again against next year.”
Natasha Desjardins and Sica scored for Niagara in the loss to Humber in the semifinal round.
Humber went on to blank Seneca 2-0 for the gold medal.
Niagara could lose as many as 10 players from this year’s team, but nine are expected to return