After being blanked by the Humber Hawks (5-0-1, 1st Central) 4-0 earlier in the week, the Niagara College Knights (3-2-1, 3rd Central) were in the midst of a two-game winless streak. Determined to stay within striking distance of the second place Bruins, the Knights went back out on the road to face the University of Toronto Mississauga (1-4-1, 6th Central).
In a very wild and physical 90 minutes, the Knights managed to leave the UTM campus with three critical points after defeating the Eagles 2-1. The win leaves Niagara only two points behind Sheridan in the very tough Central division.
"UTM may be 1-4-1 but they have scored in four of six matches this season while beating a very good Seneca team," said fourth-year head coach Frank DeChellis. "We expected a very tough, physical match and we were not disappointed. Our coaches [Rino Berardi and Luciano Berardocco] scouted this team earlier in the week and their report was spot on."
Welland native Alex Latham opened the scoring in the 30th minute, being set up on passes from Branden Taylor (Thamesford) and Keith Makubuya (St. Catharines). For Latham, it was his second goal of the season, tying him for team lead with Makubuya and Andy Hein (Omemee).
The Knights were able to add an insurance goal in the 70th minute from midfielder Mike Daggs (Niagara Falls). In his 11th regular season match with the blue and white, Dagg ripped his first career goal top corner from 25 yards out.
"I was happy to score my first goal as a Niagara Knight," said Mike Dagg. "We seem to be moving in the right direction and getting contributions from everyone on the team. All 17 guys were needed into today's match and that will prove to be important to us heading into the second half of the season."
Coach DeChellis added, "We didn't play Mike against Humber and he was not happy. He is an old-school competitor and was not coming off the field today without putting a dent in the match. He is an intelligent athlete and good footballer who wants the ball and fears nobody. How can you not love a player like that?"
With time running out in the game, Knights captain Andy Hein received a red card in the 88th minute and UTM capitalized on a penalty kick, making the score 2-1. However, the Knights were able to hold on and secure the victory.
With second place on the line, the Knights will now face off against the Sheridan Bruins (4-2-0, 2nd Central) at home October 9th. Kick-off is set for 6:00pm.
