Saturday's OCAA men's soccer season opener between the Niagara Knights and Humber Hawks continued the emerging rivalry between the two talented sides. In a spirited and fast-paced affair the reigning OCAA Champion Hawks emerged with a hard fought 2-0 road victory in less than ideal rainy and windy conditions at Youngs SportsPlex in Welland.
"We took to the field with seven rookie starters today against a very strong Humber side" said Knights head coach Frank DeChellis. "It was a bit of a baptism by fire, but overall we played very well."
The difference in the match proved to be a five minute stretch in the second half that saw the Hawks convert on a pair of goal mouth scrambles. Jesse Assign and Le Rohne Young scored in the 56th and 61st minute respectively, and the Hawks locked down the rest of the match en route to the shut out.
The best player on the field proved to be the Knights 3rd year keeper Jordan Provenzano. The Knights were outshot 14-5 in the contest. Provenzano, (Niagara Falls) a graduate of Saint Michaels Catholic School, made several acrobatic saves in the second half to keep his team in the match.
"We need to continue to develop the middle third of the field in our overall system" continued DeChellis. "With a few minor adjustments more favourable outcomes will follow."
The Knights will face the reigning CCAA Champion Sheridan Bruins in their next outing on September 19th at Sheridan's Trafalgar campus. The Knights will return to their home field on Thursday, September 24th when the team hosts the George Brown Huskies at 4:00pm.
