It was a wet, rainy, and cold afternoon for the Niagara College women's soccer 2015 season opener. The Knights hosted the powerhouse Humber Hawks on Saturday, September 12th at Youngs SportsPlex in a back-and-forth affair that saw the reigning OCAA West Division Champion Hawks earn a hard fought 2-1 victory.
"Both teams competed very well today" said Knights Head Coach Frank DeChellis. "Our girls battled hard for a full 90 minutes, and today's decision could have gone either way."
The two teams carried a 0-0 tie into halftime. Strong winds in the second half pinned the Knights in their own end allowing the Hawks to capitalize in the 51st minute on a goal by forward Ashley Osorio.
The Knights battled back, on a beautiful strike by second year midfielder Nicole Evans. The Chatsworth, Ontario native converted on a quick-turn shot from just outside the Hawks 18 yard box in the 58th minute.
Dechellis added "Nicole has worked so hard at training that the entire team had an emotional reaction to her goal. It was a great finish by a hardworking player who is a well respected teammate."
The two teams traded scoring chances over the next ten minutes before Osorio buried the eventual game winner off corner kick in the 72nd minute. On the celebration Osorio was issue her second yellow card of the match.
With the Hawks down a player the Knights attempts to pull even were stymied allowing the Humber side to earn the hard fought victory. The Knights outshot the Hawks 4-3 in the contest.
Despite loss Frank DeChellis felt his team "played well enough to win." He continued "we generated chances, played a strong team game, and scored a fantastic goal. We will continue to train and develop our system this week."
The Knights will return to action on Saturday, September 19th when the team travels to Oakville to take on the Sheridan Bruins.
