NIAGARA 5, ST. CLAIR 5

It was a great home opening weekend for the St. Clair College Saints soccer teams at the United Communities Credit Union Complex in Amherstburg. In four matches the Saints went undefeated.

In the women's game on Saturday against the Redeemer Royals (Ancaster), the Saints got off to a great start scoring four minutes into the match on nice strike by Nicole McKenzie (Belle River). St. Clair went up at the 11 minute mark on a tally by Ashley Daparteira (Cardinal Carter). Sara Kox (SDCI, Denfield) scored during the 35th minute on a nice free kick. St. Clair played some solid defence for the rest of the game to keep the Royals off the board. Rebecca Singer (General Amherst) played a solid game in net to pick up her second shutout in two games.

On Sunday the women hosted the Niagara Knights. St. Clair dominated possession and territorial play but it took two late goals to seal the win. Sara Kox scored in the 79th minute and Gwynne Attenborough (Holy Names) sealed the game in extra time with her first of the season. Lauren Beattie (Sandwich) got the win and shutout in net. St. Clair now has two wins and a draw on the season. The stingy Saint's defence has yet to allow a goal against in three matches.

In the men's match against Redeemer on Saturday Gabriel Poulino (Catholic Central) scored two first half goals to give St. Clair a 2-0 lead at halftime. Brian Santos (Cardinal Carter) and David Carlisimo (St. Joseph's) added goals in the second half to give the Saints a 4-0 lead over the Royals.  The Royals scored with five minutes remaining in the match to take the shutout away from Joey Plavetic (St. Joseph's) who played a great game in net for St. Clair.

On Sunday the men played the Niagara Knights to a 5-5 draw in an extremely exciting and intense match. Niagara scored early in the 4th minute but St. Clair responded on a penalty kick by Brian Santos (Cardinal Carter) in the sixth minute. The Knights scored two back to back goals in the 20th and 21st minute to go up 3-1. Ali Jafari (Catholic Central) closed the gap to 3-2 in the 41st minute of play. Gabriel Poulino tied the game up on a  great free kick in the 50th minute to start off the second half. St. Clair took the lead 4-3 on a goal by Kevin Delgado (Cardinal Carter) in the 60th minute. The Saints went up 5-3 on a tally by Jafari in the 65th minute but Niagara refused to give up. The Knights scored in the 89th minute and in injury time to tie the match up as they put on a huge late push that St. Clair was unable to withstand. St. Clair now has 1 win, 1 loss and 1 draw on the season.

Both teams are in action next weekend when they travel to the Toronto area to take on the top ranked Humber Hawks and Sheridan Bruins on Saturday and Sunday.

Their next home game is Friday, September 28 when the face the Mohawk Mountaineers. The women kick off at 4:30 p.m. followed by the men at 6:30 p.m.

Source: St. Clair College