Saturday, September 6th will see the Niagara College men's and women's soccer programs formally open the 2014 season when the teams host the Redeemer Royals beginning at 2:00pm at Youngs' SportsPlex.
The Knights will enter the season with high aspirations as a busy off-season of training and recruiting has positioned the two programs for long playoff runs that could stretch deep into October.
On the men's side, the Knights will return the majority of their 2013 roster including starting goalkeeper Jordan Provenzano (Niagara Falls), impact striker Carlos Williams (St. Catharines), team captain Will Janetos (St. Catharines), and 2013 team MVP and OCAA league all-star Jordi Amores (St. Catharines).
Last season was a breakout campaign for the Knights, as the team finished with a 3-3-2 record, and advanced to an OCAA playoff crossover match for the first time in program history.
Niagara College men's and women's soccer head coach Frank DeChellis commented "last season saw our men's program move in a positive direction. We are looking to continue that trend, and we expect to be playing soccer in mid-October."
Saturday will see the men's program face a Redeemer side that finished the 2013 season with a record 2-4-2 and in sixth place in the OCAA West Division. The teams last met in September of 2013 in a match that saw the Royals edge the Knights by a score of 2-1.
Kick off for Saturday's match is set for 2:00pm.
On the women's side, the Niagara College women's soccer program will also enter the 2014 season with lofty ambitions. "We had a tremendous off-season of recruiting, and return some key veterans in the right positions" said Coach DeChellis. He continued "there is excitement around our program heading into this season, and we have very high expectations."
The 2013 season saw the Knights win their first match since 2011. The Knights finished the campaign with a record of 1-6-1.
Despite not qualifying for the OCAA playoffs, the Knights made tremendous strides in terms of talent acquisition and improving on-field 'compete' levels.
This off-season saw the Knights continue this trend as they completed an intense off-season training regime, and attracted a top-tier recruiting class. Joining the Knights for the 2014 season are impact recruits: Rebecca Morrison (Striker, Erin), Emily Babcock (Midfield, Caledon), and Julia Pantusa (Forward, Niagara Falls).
The new recruits will join returning veteran defenders Olivia Page (Welland), Cassie Gilmore (Welland) and Leah Harrison (Mississauga), midfielders Ashley Moccia (Fort Erie) and Rachel Wachner (Grimsby), and OCAA all-star and Academic All-Canadian goalkeeper Melanie Bajic (Grimsby).
The Knights will face a Royals side that finished the 2013 season in ninth place in the OCAA West with a record of 1-7. The two teams last met on September 11th, 2013 in a match that saw the Knights earn a hard fought 2-0 victory.
Kick off for Saturday's match is set for 4:00pm at Youngs SportsPlex in Welland. Admission to all Niagara College men's and women's soccer matches is free.
