Saturday, September 26th saw the Niagara College men's soccer program earn a hard fought 1-1 draw against the visiting Seneca Sting. The tie moves the Knights to 2-1-1 on the season, extends the team's unbeaten streak to three games, and sees the side move into sole possession of second place in the highly competitive OCAA Central.
"We used 18 players in a very tight game" said Niagara College men's soccer head coach Frank DeChellis. "That's how deep our team is becoming. We have eight players that all have the ability to give us a very strong defensive back four."
The Knights entered the match having hosted the George Brown Huskies just 48 hours earlier, yet showed no signs of fatigue. Niagara controlled the match from the opening whistle in terms of both scoring chances and possession. The two teams carried a 0-0 tie into halftime.
The second frame saw the Knights increase their intensity until breaking the deadlock in the 51st minute on goal by team captain Andy Hein (Omemee). Hein converted via a goal mouth rebound off a fantastic scoring chance by midfielder Alex Latham (Welland). The goal gives Hein his second of the season and fifth all-time in a Knights uniform.
A strange turn of events in the 70th minute changed the landscape of the match dramatically. During a Seneca offensive possession, the side official signaled for an offside called against the Sting. As soccer rules stipulate, the head referee can 'wave off' the offside call can signal for play to resume. Knights keeper Jordan Provenzano appeared not to see the offside call being waved off, and he picked up the ball outside his penalty area. The play resulting in a hand ball foul being called against the Knights. A heated exchange occurred and Provenzano was in turn issued a red card and was ejected from the match.
Seneca midfielder Mark Eydelman converted on the ensuing free kick, pulling the Sting even with the Knights who were forced to play out the remainder of the match with 10 men.
"It was very bad timing for us when the red card was issued" continued DeChellis. "Kudos to Seneca for capitalizing on the play. They are a solid team that competes very hard."
The two teams traded scoring chances down the stretch. Entering the match in relief, second year keeper Sam Robson turned aside two wide open scoring chances to keep his team in the game.
Fourth year striker Keith Makubuya (St. Catharines) had a free kick for the Knights with no time remaining, after Hein was fouled just outside the left corner of the 18 yard box. Makubuya sent a high ball to the front of the net that found the head of Josh Collins, but sailed just wide of the Sting goal.
"Down a man we still managed to create chances" added DeChellis after the final whistle.
The Knights will have little time to rest and recover as the team will travel to Humber on Tuesday, September 29th to take on the undefeated Hawks (3-0). Humber handed the Knights their only defeat of the season when the teams met on September 12th. The Knights will return to Youngs SportsPlex on October 9th when they host the Sheridan Bruins at 6:00pm.
