Sept. 9 Niagara College report: Soccer; O’Keefe named to FIBA board
The Niagara College Knights women’s soccer team followed up a perfect 3-0 preseason by edging the Humber Hawks 3-2 in its Ontario Colleges Athletic Association season opener.
Julieanne Buist, Kaitlyn Pressley, and Terin Hultink scored for the Knights in the game that was played last Friday at Youngs Sportsplex in Welland.
Hultink set up Buist for the eventual game-winning goal.
Head coach Rob Lalama was pleased with his team’s effort in what was a high tension match-up.
“I think we proved to ourselves tonight that we can compete with a very good team in Humber,” Lalama said. “Heading into tonight’s game, I wasn’t sure how we were going to perform under the pressure of the first regular season game, or how we were going to match up against Humber.”
Lalama was proud of his team’s performance.
“They worked hard and deserved this win.”
Next up for the Knights is a game Friday against Mohawk at 6 p.m. at Youngs Sportsplex.
MEN’S SOCCER
Niagara’s men’s squad had a tough task in its opener going up against the Humber Hawks, the defending Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association champions.
The 6-0 loss wasn’t the ideal result for Niagara but head coach Frank DeChellis saw his team make progress during the game.
“Moments when we embraced attacking and defending principles as a team, along with keeping the game simple, were when we were playing well,” he said. “The moments we showed some impatience or panic, they punished us.
“The score hurts, but the guys got to see the level they need to move towards in order to compete in the league.”
Allen Leaford led Humber with five goals. Humber has won three OCAA crowns in the past four seasons and the Knights will used the lessons they learned in the loss in Friday’s 8 p.m. home game at Youngs Sportsplex versus Mohawk.
“These are college students and tonight was applied learning at its best,” DeChellis said. “I look forward to our training next week.”
O’KEEFE ELECTED TO FIBA BOARD
Michele O’Keefe, Niagara College’s associate director of athletics and recreation, was recently elected to the FIBA Central Board for the 2019-23 term.
The election was held in Beijing, China, where the former president and CEO of Canada Basketball was among delegates from 156 National Federations in attendance at the XXI FIBA Congress.
Coverage of the Niagara Knights is made possible with the support of the Niagara College Department of Athletics & Recreation. For more information, please visit www.goknights.ca
