Saturday afternoon marks the return of the Lambton Lions Men’s Soccer team to their home field after two games away in the Greater Toronto Area.
The Lions will kick off a three-game home stand on Saturday afternoon at the Lambton College Soccer Field when the Niagara College Knights bring their talents to Sarnia. Both teams come into the day without a win on their record, so something must give when the two programs meet.
Lambton returns home after being held off the scoresheet in back-to-back games last weekend. The Lions are hoping that the friendly confines of Lambton College will help to reignite their offense, much like it did in the second half of their season opener against Conestoga. After trailing 3-0 at the conclusion of the opening 45 minutes, the Lions found the back of the net twice in the second half to make things interesting against the Condors, but they were unable to complete the comeback.
Last weekend saw the Lions take on the Sheridan Bruins and the UTM Eagles on their first road trip of the season. The Bruins found the back of the net in the opening minutes to steal any momentum the Lions had before they could get settled into the game. A second goal before the half was out put the host Bruins ahead 2-0, and they added two more goals to hold down home turf with a 4-0 win.
On Sunday, the Lions and Eagles met for the first time on the soccer field. While the Lions held the Eagles off the scoresheet in the opening minutes, UTM would find the back of the net twice in the first half to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. A third goal for the Eagles in the 59th minute sealed the Lions’ fate, and UTM would add two more for good measure down the stretch for the 5-0 win.
The Knights have just one goal to their name this season. Niagara opened their 2019 season with a 6-0 loss to the top-ranked Humber Hawks, and they are coming off a 3-1 loss against Mohawk in their last outing.
Last season, Niagara swept the two-game season series with the Lions, picking up a 4-2 victory at Lambton College and a 3-1 win on their own home turf. On Saturday, the Lions will be looking to return the favour and pick up their first win of the season on home field in the process.
Kickoff is scheduled for approximately 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, and the game will follow the Women’s Soccer game between Lambton and Niagara.