September 12, 2022... WELLAND - The Niagara Knights men's soccer team battled to a 1-0 loss in their season opening debut against the visiting Conestoga Condors.

Friday night's home opener saw a packed house for the blue and white's debut at Youngs Sportsplex, and despite not seeing the Knights get up on the scoreboard, the crowd was treated to an exciting 90 minutes of play.

Both teams fought hard to be the first to break open the scoring, but it was Conestoga drawing first blood with a goal at the 43 minute mark of the first half on a goal from Luca Romano off a corner kick.

Conestoga's lone goal would prove to be the game winner as they managed to hang on to the 1-0 lead and secure their first win of the season, leaving the Knights to drop to 0-1.

"That goal against is a textbook coaching moment for defending corners," said head coach Frank DeChellis. "We left him open with all the time in the world and the sequence ended with the ball in our net and 4 of our players frantically trying to do afterwards what one player could have easily handled in advance."

" It was a Jekyll and Hyde type of performance from the guys. When we played the ball on the carpet and moved it through the thirds, we were brilliant.  When we decided to start launching balls in every direction it got a bit ugly.  The game had a lot of positives but we need to work on being more patient. We have a very young team so that will come with more experience. Other than the score, I walked away from that game happy with the work the guys put in and what's to come."

Rookie goalkeeper Vinson Notarianni made his debut in the blue and white in Friday's match and was arguably what kept the Knights alive during some tense moments on the pitch.

"We could not have asked anymore from Vinnie in his debut and we are so happy for him on his performance in front of a packed house that included his family and friends," said DeChellis. "He and Anthony (Argueta) have been working so hard with Gerry D'Angelo and it showed during the game.  There were times he kept the game close when we had a few brief spells of being disorganized on the field."

For Notarianni, the experience of his OCAA game on home turf was a positive one.

"It was exciting to play in front of a packed house Friday night for my OCAA debut," said Notarianni. "It was not the result we wanted but we have a long season to go.  We did a great job battling for the full 90 and still had the opportunity to secure points."

Co-captain and second year midfielder Joel Mariñas echoed DeChellis' thoughts on Notarianni and his team's performance on the night.

"We started off on our back foot but once we asserted ourselves into the game our level increased significantly," said Mariñas. "We showed grit in the second half and with Vinny keeping us in the match on several occasions -  it's unfortunate our efforts didn't result in a goal. You never want to lose, but when we look back at the film and make the necessary adjustments, this loss will make us better."

 The Knights will hit the pitch again Tuesday night on the road against Sheridan College, who opened their season with a 4-1 over Redeemer on Saturday.

For full OCAA stats and standings please visit www.ocaa.com