The Knights men's and women's soccer squads ended their regular seasons in a high note Wednesday night, with both teams coming up with big wins over the Redeemer Royals.
The women got things going first, getting up to a 3-0 lead early on with all three goals coming from Terin Hultink (1st year, Fenwick). Hultink's three goals added to her final season total of seven for her first OCAA season of competition. Katelyn Mix added the fourth and final goal of the night, notching her 3rd of the season.
Back-up keeper Sierra Naccarato earned her first shut-out of the season after getting the nod for her first start of the season between the pipes.
"Last night was a big night for us," said a smiling Naccarato. "I think we came in eager and excited and put forward an amazing 90 minutes. Going into post season, it was extremely important that we played with the same energy and drive that we've developed throughout the season, and last night we did just that. It was an honour to get my first start of the season and, due to a full team effort, shut out."
"I challenged our team this week to raise the bar," said head coach Rob Lalama. "I felt we should have even higher expectations. I felt we did that tonight and got quality performances from everyone especially Terin who was on a mission tonight. I was so happy for our Sierra who got the start in goal tonight and earned the shutout. She is a committed player who works so hard in training."
The Knights women finished fourth overall in the OCAA west standings (5-2-2) prompting a trip to St. Lawrence College in Kingston for a cross over game with the Vikings who finished fourth in the East (5-3-1). The winner will move on the OCAA women's soccer championship hosted by Redeemer College Oct 24-26th.
The women will kick off against the Vikings at 1:00 P.M. tomorrow from John Machin field.
Full results from all OCAA playoff games can be found here: https://www.ocaa.com/sports/wsoc/2019-20/schedule-all
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The Knights men's soccer team finished their season in spectacular fashion Wednesday night, shutting out the Redeemer Royals 5-0.
It was a memorable night for 5th year team captain Andrew Currie (5th year, Woodstock), who played his final game at Youngs Sportsplex Wednesday night. Currie got the Knights on the board first, blasting a shot from just outside the 18 yard box- his first of the season and fifth of his career. Still on a high from his first goal of the night, Currie curled a free kick around the Royals keeper minutes later, giving him his season goal of the night.
"Before tonight I only had three goals over my five year career with Niagara, now I've got two in one night," said a smiling Currie. "A great way to end my final game here."
First year player Chavon Wellington (St. Toronto) also netted two on the night, while Oti Frigole (2nd year, St. Catharines) added one more to bring his season total to seven.
Goalkeeper Romario James earned his first shut-out of the season.
The victory was a big one for the Knights, who struggled in the win column this season. Finishing 3-6 overall, the Knights managed to squeeze into a playoff position finishing seventh in the OCAA West. The team will now travel to Algonquin College (7-1) Saturday, to kick-off against the Thunder who finished first overall in the East.
The Knights and Thunder will get going at 3:00 P.M. Winner of that game will move on to the OCAA Championship in Peterborough Oct 24-26th.
For full playoff results, please visit https://www.ocaa.com/sports/msoc/2019-20/schedule-all
