Niagara College Oct. 14 sports report: Soccer; basketball; volleyball
The Niagara College Knights women’s soccer team finished in third place in the Ontario Colleges Athletic West Division with a record of 7-2-1, thanks to a pair of 1-0 wins last week.
Niagara opened its week with a 1-0 victory over the Mohawk Mountaineers, thanks to a goal in the 90th minute by Aneisha Gobbels.
“I was proud of how the team performed. We had a short bench because of injuries so everyone healthy got a chance to contribute,” Niagara head coach Rob Lalama said. “The fans got their money’s worth. Good goalkeeping, good defending and good scoring opportunities.”
It was seniors night and Niagara honoured graduating players Lily Ryder, Olivia Collevecchio, Mia DiPasquale, Ashley Phillips, Sara Vogel, Core Meloche, Taylor Hynes, Jayda Rodrigue and Juliana Mack Greco.
Niagara closed out the regular season with a 1-0 victory over the Sheridan Bruins. Vogel scored the winner in the 83rd minute.
“Saturday’s win against Sheridan was a nice way to end the regular season. The team played really well, controlling possession and moving the ball for 90 minutes,” Lalama said.”We’ll take a few days off and prepare Tuesday for our playoff game against Humber on Wednesday night.”
Game time Wednesday at Youngs Sportsplex is 7 p.m.
Gobbels was named Niagara’s Female Athlete of the Week.
“Leading the Knights in goals (6), assists (3) and points (15), Aneisha has been a force to be reckoned with all season long,” a Niagara College press release said.
MEN’S SOCCER
Niagara’s men’s soccer team finished the OCAA season in sixth place in the West Division after splitting a pair of games last week.
Last Wednesday at home, the Knights defeated the Mohawk Mountaineers 4-2 on a pair of goals by Gerrit Oldejans and single scores by Mike DiMaurizio and Blake Kokko. Assists were contributed by Robert McMillan, William Mitchell and DiMaurizio.
“Last night (Wednesday) was a good win for us. Mohawk College is one of our main competitors when it comes to recruiting for soccer and academically, so it’s always nice to beat them. Our division has been in playoff mode since Game 5 and last night was no different,” Niagara head coach Frank DeChellis said.
“Juan Plata, Jack Soares, Matt Bogusat and Will Mitchell did a stellar job as our back four last night. If I did have a quirk, it’s to not switch our back four when they are playing well, which carves into other players’ minutes. Last night was one of those nights. Noah Vogel and Kyle Hannon were the field generals in the middle of the park and last night was their best game defensively. Gerrit scoring two goals is good for our team. That’s what we need from him and that’s why he makes the big bucks. Seeing Mike DiMaurizio returning to form has been a nice story this season. Scoring our first goal off Robbie McMillan’s perfect pass woke our team up. Blake Kokko also scored his first ever for NC and that was a great moment for such a dedicated player. We still have a handful of key guys sidelined but others are coming up big when we need it. Dom McIntosh lights up when we play Mohawk as he played there for a year. In the last two years, he has a goal and three crossbars against his old school. It was also a special moment for the team seeing Kylar Lampman back in his usual role after a frustrating year of injuries and being managed, time wise.”
Plata described the game as like a playoff game but didn’t want his team to get carried away with the win.
“We’ll use it to build our confidence and take each game step by step.”
It was seniors night and Niagara honoured graduating players Matthew Vadacchino, Cole Smith, Noah Vogel, Dom McIntosh, Jack Soares, Kylar Lampman, Kyle Hannon, Sakul Gurung and Matthew Bogusat.
Niagara concluded the regular season with a 5-0 loss to Sheridan.
“What started out positively, blew up in our face on short order today. We came out of the game on all cylinders, had two good chances then we find ourselves down 3-0 in a nine-minute span. It was so frustrating,” DeChellis said. “We were down 5-0 at half so that game was washed away. We were called for no fouls, which is a sign of a lack of pressure and intensity. We set some goals for the second half to use that effort as a springboard for our playoff game Wednesday. The guys did perform well for the last 45, but unfortunately the game is 90 minutes long and we needed that effort when it’s 0-0. The guys were frustrated after the game, but we agreed to get back to work and prepare for Conestoga on Wednesday. Narada Gibbs-Burke and Kyle Giovinnini made their debuts today and showed well for themselves. They work hard at training and it showed today.”
DiMaurizio was named Niagara College’s Male Athlete of the Week. He finished the season second in points for Niagara with three goals and an assist.
Niagara opens the playoffs at Conestoga Wednesday at 8 p.m.
BASKETBALL
Niagara’s women’s basketball team looks more than ready for its home opener Sunday at 1 p.m. versus the Humber Hawks after playing well in exhibition play this past weekend in Montreal.
“Our team capped off a productive pre-season by going 3-0 in Montreal against quality competition. I’m very proud of our teamwork, energy, and resilience. We are looking forward to carrying this momentum into our OCAA season,” head coach Kimbal Mackenzie said.
Taryn Mitchell scored 16 points and was named player of the game in a 60-50 victory over Ste-Foy.
“I’m proud of our team for always keeping our heads up and showing our opponents that no matter the boundaries us as a team can overcome it all with our fight, resilience, and talent,” Mitchell said.
Other leading scorers for Niagara against Ste-Foy were Destiny Osadebamwen with 13 points, Jamira Rousseau with eight and Destiny Paquin with seven.
Rousseau was named player of the game after scoring 13 points in a 71-68 victory against Champlain.
“This weekend was great. We played as a team and together,” Rousseau said. “Our energy on and off the bench was amazing. Seeing us all get better and better each preseason game is making me so excited and ready for the season. I can’t wait to compete and get better with this group.”
Other leading scorers for Niagara against Champlain were Paquin and Mitchell with 11, Janee Harrison and Osadebamwen with nine and Lexxus Bell with eight.
Paquin was named player of the game after scoring nine points in a 67-51 victory over Mount Allison.
Other leading scorers for Niagara were Harrison with 13, Isabelle Sinclair with 10 and Rousseau and Osadebamwen with nine.
The Niagara men’s team will open its season at home Sunday at 3 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Niagara’s men’s and women’s volleyball teams open the season at home this Saturday at noon and 2 p.m. against the Redeemer Royals.