Saturday, October 19th saw the breakout season of the Niagara College men's soccer program come to an end, as the team was eliminated from the OCAA Playoffs by the Algonquin Thunder. The quarterfinal matchup represented the deepest a Niagara College Knights men's soccer team has ever made it in the playoffs. The final score of the match was 3-1.
After the match Knights Assistant Coach Luciano Beradocco commented "We played against tough circumstances today, difficult ones you just cannot plan for. Despite what we faced, the men's attitudes remained focused and determined throughout the game. Our season came to an end of a road today but we have such taken great strides with this years' experiences that will result in future success for our program."
The exciting affair saw two skilled teams display the high quality soccer that is contested on pitches across the OCAA.
The Knights controlled the early portions of the match and in the 25th minute Pickering native Austin MacDonell converted on a penalty kick to put the Knights up 1-0. The Thunder responded quickly in the 33rd minute when Isaac Johnson pulled his team even with a header that found the back of the net
The game changed dramatically for Niagara College just two minutes later, when a fierce scramble inside the Knights goal mouth area resulted in defender Jon Sexton being issued a red card for a hand ball. Abraham Kamara converted on the ensuing penalty kick and the Thunder took a 2-1 lead.
The Knights were reduced to ten players for the duration of the match.
Shortly after half-time a severe storm swept into the area. The match was delayed for over an hour and players were forced to seek shelter from the thunder and lightning in the area.
After the delay the two teams re-took the field. With severe weather forecasted for the duration of the afternoon, the shorthanded Knights maintained their aggressive play and created several strong scoring chances.
Niagara College men's soccer head coach Frank DeChellis commented "It was interesting. We needed to score before the 75 minute mark. If the game is called off because of weather after 75 minutes, the result stands, so the clock was ticking faster for us. They wanted the result and played that second half like pitbulls with toothaches. Our players were brave in their attempt and left us with very little to say afterwards."
The Thunder eventually capitalized, finding space behind the Knights defenders and scoring an insurance goal in the 80th minute.
After the match, second-year forward Kyle Sheppard commented "we got better every week and it showed every game. Today's loss was tough to take but it doesn't take away from the overall season." The Brampton native continued "we made some noise this season and a lot of guys are coming back next year. The future is bright for our program."
