Sept. 16 Niagara College report: Reunion Nov. 1; Soccer

Pardon the bad pun, but it will be a night to remember when Niagara College Knights host an alumni tailgate party Nov. 1 at 4:30 p.m. on the Welland campus.

The event, called ReuKnighted, is for former Knights athletes and alumnus from the college’s Broadcasting – Radio Television and Film, and Sport Management programs. The indoor tailgate, hosted by the school’s alumni relations team, will be held in The Core prior to the home openers of the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

“We’re excited to welcome alumni back to Niagara College,” said Michele O’Keefe, Niagara’s associate director, athletics and recreation. “Alumni are integral to NC Knights tradition and ReuKnighted is our way to celebrate and engage them.”

The event is a family friendly, ticketed event, and a chance to reconnect with former classmates and teammates. Registration is now open at niagaracollege.ca/alumnirelations/reuknighted. The first 100 alumnus registered for the event will receive a special gift.

“ReuKnighted is a great opportunity for alumni to come back to campus and reconnect with former classmates, teammates, faculty, and friends of Niagara College,” said Jana Boniferro, the college’s alumni engagement officer. “We’re very excited to host members of our alumni community and look forward to getting ‘reuKnighted’ as we help cheer on our NC Knights.”

Niagara College is considering further alumnus events to engage the more than 90,000 college grads.

MEN’S SOCCER

Governor Simcoe grad Oti Frigole scored the lone goal as the Niagara’s men’s soccer team dropped a 3-1 decision to the Mohawk Mountaineers.

Brock University transfer James D’Annunzio, a second-year student from Niagara Falls, picked up the assist on Frigole’s goal.

Scoring for Mohawk were Andrew Fonovic, Matthew Cunha and Claudio Labardy.

Niagara fell to 0-2 in Ontario Colleges Athletic Association play with the loss. It was the Knights’ second straight home setback.

Head coach Frank DeChellis was disappointed with the loss.

“Our program hasn’t been 0-2 in a long, long time. The guys worked hard, but that’s not enough in this league,” he said. “We need to work intelligently as a group with a purpose. We are a little bit beat up with injuries, but I felt we still had the manpower to win that game.”

DeChellis remains optimistic heading into a road game Saturday against Lambton College. The Lions have opened their season with three straight losses.

“We have lots to build on and we have lots of young, talented players,” he said. “Like always, we are excited for our next matchup.”

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Niagara’s women’s soccer team saw its OCAA record even up at 1-1 following a 2-0 loss to the Mohawk.

It was a costly game for Niagara as it saw starting keeper Taylor Major leave the game with an injury. She was replaced by Sierra Naccarato.

Scoring for Mohawk, which improved to 2-0 with the victory, were Daniela Cardillo and Lia Murray. Sabrina Mariani recorded the shutout.

“We didn’t get going tonight and that’s credit to Mohawk,” Niagara head coach Rob Lalama said. “When we lost our starting keeper to injury and then failed to score on the penalty shot, it was clear it wasn’t going to be our night.

“We’ll get back to work Monday and be ready for Lambton next weekend.”

Niagara is at winless Lambton (0-2-1) Saturday.