It was a weekend filled with extreme heat as the Niagara Knights men's soccer program (3-0, 1st OCAA West) took care of business against the St. Clair Saints (0-3, 5th OCAA West) and the Lambton Lions (0-3, 5th OCAA West).
It was a back-and-forth thriller against the Saints in the Saturday matchup, with the scoreboard remaining blank for a majority of the game. Niagara goalkeeper Romario James (Bahamas) and St. Clair goalkeeper Petur Mar were stopping everything that came their way. St. Clair got some luck in the first half, as the score stayed even after there was a nullified goal via a David Fimiak (St. Catharines) and Jacob Therrien (Welland) combination and a shot off the crossbar from Oti Frigole (St. Catharines).
It was only James, however, that would be able to keep his clean sheet intact as the Knight's Dean Miller (Port Colborne) would finally solve Mar in the 83rd minute, making no mistake on a beautiful through ball by Harrison Fyke (Ridgeway). The late goal would be all the Knights would need to secure the 1-0 victory.
"It was nice to get on the pitch," said Miller on his goal. "It was also a very hot day, everyone was tired and I realized I needed to step up my game. I had a chance near the end and made sure I didn't miss it. It was a fun moment."
The extreme heat followed the team bus up to Sarnia for the second matchup of the weekend, this time against Lambton. Unlike the first match, this one had plenty of offensive action. Frigole continued the incredible start to his OCAA career as the Knights rookie star found the back of the net for the third time of the season, his first of two goals on the day, to put Niagara up 1-0 in just the 4th minute.
Just moments later, in the 13th minute, Niagara's Noah DiEgidio (Welland) scored his second goal of the campaign to give his team a cushion. That goal would be beneficial as the Knights conceded Lambton's first goal of the season in the 19th minute, off the foot of Tristan Paul-Aguilar, cutting their lead in half. Before the Lions could tie the game up, however, Frigole buried his second of the game to regain the two-goal lead in the 32nd minute.
All of the second half action came within the first five minutes as Zach DeWeerd (Dundas) scored his first goal of the year, stretching his team's lead to three goals. The three-goal lead didn't last long, however, as Lambton's Alasdair Coy would score to bring his team back within two.
It was goalkeeper Nolan Bradshaw's (Niagara Falls) first start of the season for the Knights, picking up his first victory in his first opportunity. Bradshaw did make an appearance in the season opener, replacing James in the 78th minute after James went down with an injury, stopping the lone shot he faced.
Niagara's head coach Frank DeChelli, was extremely impressed with how his team performed in the extreme heat.
"I was so happy for the players," said DeChellis. "Despite a sweep for the men and women in Windsor on Saturday, the bus ride to Sarnia on Saturday night was very quiet as everybody was whipped. You always worry about that Sunday game on these trips. Finding a way to play and win is a great team building exercise because every player you have is part of the equation."
Coach DeChellis also spoke about how he is happy with the veteran players on the team and how they are helping set-up the rookie players with their early season success.
"We made some discoveries this weekend about who is ready to play more at this level," said DeChellis. "The veterans are being very selfless in helping the new players find their way on the field. For the coaches, there is something very uplifting about a first-year player succeeding because you know there is a supporting cast getting them to where they need to be."
One of those players providing veteran leadership is Jordi Amores (St. Catharines). Despite being held off of the score sheet so far this season, Amores has been arguably the Knights best all-around player so far, helping pave the way for the early season success of his team.
"As a fifth-year player, I feel that I must be a leader and set the example for all the new players," said Amores. "We have a lot of great young players and I'm more than happy to help them fit in with the team. Even though the weather was difficult this weekend, we worked hard as a team and got the results that we wanted."
Defender Temi Makinwa (Brampton) made his season debut after missing the season opener. He was impressed with the way his season started out.
"Coming into this weekend I felt like I had something to prove," said Makinwa. "I felt that I played well both games and that came down to good communication across the backline. I hope I can build on this weekend's performance and continue to make the coaches' decision difficult when selecting the starting eleven."
The Knights will have their toughest matchup of the season so far in their next contest, as they host the Fanshawe Falcons (2-0-1, 2nd OCAA West) on Wednesday, September 15th. DeChellis says the team has a lot to do to get ready for the match.
"We have a lot to do to prepare for Fanshawe on Wednesday," said DeChellis. "Our 3-0 record should not let people think we are satisfied with our play. We know there are things to adjust and that will be dealt with at training."
Fanshawe drew a 2-2 tie with the Redeemer Royals (2-0-1, 2nd OCAA West) in their last matchup, but before that they had defeated both Lambton and St. Clair by a combined scored of 7-1 in their first two matches.
The Niagara Knights men's soccer program hosts the Fanshawe Falcons when their season continues on Wednesday, September 19th at 6pm. The game will be played at Youngs Sportsplex (570 River Rd) in Welland.