Niagara College soccer stars honoured with awards by OCAA
Post-season awards cap successful soccer seasons
As the Niagara College Knights men’s and women’s soccer teams dreams of a provincial championship ended Thursday there was some consolation.
Players from both teams collected plenty of hardware at the annual awards banquet the accompanies the OCAA soccer championship.
Four Niagara Knights were named OCAA women's soccer all-stars. The men placed three players on the all-star team.
Michelle Maecker of Fonthill, Kara Latham of Welland and Lauren Frasca of St. Catharines, and Sophia Al-Kayed earned the all-star selections. It marks the first time that the Knights have had four all-stars, the previous high being two, setting yet another program record in what was the team’s best showing.
Following up on her rookie of the year nod a season ago, Michelle Maecker earned an OCAA All-Star. She was the Knights leading scorer with seven goals, and became the team’s all-time career goals leader with 13 total through two seasons.
Captain Kara Latham earned her first OCAA All-Star selection in her third season is a leader on and off the field and one of the elite midfielders in the OCAA.
Second-year defender Frasca and rookie midfielder Al-Kayed round out the all-stars for the Knights. Frasca was a shutdown defender for a Knights team that tied a program record for fewest losses and conceding only 16 goals this season.
Al-Kayed, who is set to join the Knights women's basketball program when the season concludes, did not disappoint in her rookie season. She quietly put together a strong midfield season and scored.
On the men’s side, the CCAA’s 12th ranked team placed Jordi Amores of St. Catharines, Quinton Leone of Niagara Falls, and Oti Frigole of St. Catharines on the 2018 all-star team.
In his fifth year with the Knights, Amores is a four-time OCAA all-star. The diminutive midfielder controlled the game on both sides of the ball, he played a full 90 minutes and almost every match.
Leone earned his first all-star selection for the Knights. Leone, an AN Myer graduate, established himself this year as one of the premier defenders in the OCAA on a team that recorded four shutouts.
Frigole earned an OCAA all-star nod in his rookie year with 11 goals.