On a cold and rainy Wednesday afternoon, the Niagara Knights (3-3-2, 4th OCAA West) extended their undefeated streak to 5 as they battled the west division leading Fanshawe Falcons (7-0-1, 1st OCAA West) to scoreless draw. The draw against the Knights was the first time all season the Falcons left points on the table, and was a direct result of a Knights program who entered the game ready to compete.
The first half of the game had the Knights fighting off both the vigorous attack of the Falcons as well as the rain. These factors resulted in the Knights being pinned in their own end for the first 45 minutes of the game. However, the Falcons were unable to penetrate the Niagara back line consisting of Ashley Bruzzese (Welland, Ont.), Shannon Halliday (Welland, Ont.), Lauren Frasca (Welland, Ont.) and Genny Frick (St. Catharines). Head Coach Rob Lalama was proud of his backline, who he thought competed well against an undefeated Falcons team. "The back four were outstanding limiting the Falcons to chances only from a distance for most of the game. They are a very good team, and I'm proud of how we competed today."
The second half saw the Knights record some of their own offense, but the Falcons were still on the constant attack. Fanshawe's best chance came late in the match inside the penalty area only to see rookie goalkeeper Alexis Hebert (Waterdown, Ont.) make a spectacular save diving to her left. Her 11 save performance against the west division leading Falcons increases her shutout streak to an impressive four straight games.
The Knights will be back in action when they host the St. Clair Saints (5-2-1, 3rd OCAA West) on Saturday, October 14th at Youngs Sportsplex. With a win against the Saints, the Knights would be two points behind them, and in prime position to overtake third in the west. Kickoff is scheduled for 4pm.
