Saturday, September 14th saw the Niagara College Women's soccer program drop to 1-1 on the season after falling to the three-time defending OCAA champion Humber Hawks by a final score of 4-0. The Knights provided their second consecutive solid performance, but the powerhouse Hawks proved too much for a young Knights team.
Niagara College head coach Frank DeChellis was pleased with his team's effort in the match. "We ran with them for the full 90 minutes and didn't run out of gas. We had chances throughout, challenged hard for balls and really made Humber work for the win."
The Knights opened the match strong, recording three quality scoring chances in the opening 15 minutes. The Hawks responded with an offensive attack of their own. Knights' second-year goalkeeper Melanie Bajic continued her outstanding play, as she provided a trio of highlight reel saves that preserved a 0-0 tie into halftime.
For her strong performance against Humber, and her outstanding play during the Knights' September 11th shutout victory over Redeemer, Bajic was named Niagara College's female athlete of the week.
The Hawks showed their championship capability in the opening five minutes of the second half, recording goals in the 48th (N'neka Harrision) and 50th (Corinna Vanderschaff) minutes.
Knights' assistant coach Gary Condon felt "Humber really showed what they can do in the second. Those two quick goals unsettled us, but we rebounded and continued to play well."
The Hawks would eventually seal the victory with a pair of goals by Alexandria Kastanis and Devina Alicandro in the 73rd and 89th minutes.
Recording strong outings for the Knights were Chelsea Fraser (Grimsby), Jenny Lee Graham (St. Thomas), and Sierra Grant (Welland).
DeChellis continued "a lot of girls are showing leadership qualities and that is the key to a program's success. Everyone on the field improved over those 90 minutes against Humber."
The Knights will look for their second win of the season on Thursday, September 11th when the team travels to Kitchener to face the Conestoga Condors. Kickoff is set for 3:00pm at Woodside Park, field number two.
