In their first game of a three-game home stand, the Lambton Lions dropped a 5-1 decision to the visiting Niagara College Knights on Saturday afternoon at the Lambton College Soccer Field.

The loss drops the Lions to 0-4-0 on the season, while the win was the first of the season for the Knights, improving their overall record to 1-2-0.

Early on in the first half, it was the Lions who controlled play. The Lions had pressure on the Knights’ defense from the start, but were unable to get one past keeper Romario James. At the midway point of the first half, Lambton managed to find the back of the net, but it helped the visitors.

Off a Niagara corner kick in the 24^th minute, a ball ricocheted into the Lions net off the leg of Nik Podlacha on a clearing attempt, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead on the own goal for Lambton. Despite the series of unfortunate events, the Lions continued to pressure the Knights, and were rewarded just before halftime.

Mitch McAuley was the recipient of a beautiful cross in the 42^nd minute, and he elevated over the defender to get his head on the ball. His header went just over the outstretched arm of the Knights keeper and into the back of the net, sending the Lions bench into a frenzy as a result.

With a boost of momentum just before the break, the Lions were looking to keep up the same pressure in the second. Instead, a pair of long balls from James found their way through the Lambton defenders, and the Knights scored two goals in a span of eight minutes to retake their lead.

Niagara would add two more goals over the final 20 minutes of the match to put things out of reach. The 5-1 victory for Niagara was their first win of the year.

Saturday’s loss marks the third game in a row that the Lions were held off the scoresheet in the second half after being competitive over the opening 45 minutes. Consistency from one half to the next has plagued the team over their last three losses, and it’s something that the coaches will look to address moving forwards.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Lions, as they host the top-ranked team in the CCAA on Sunday afternoon when the Humber Hawks come to town. Lambton will look to challenge the undefeated Hawks right from the start to try and put a blemish on the Hawks’ perfect 4-0-0 record.

Kickoff is set for approximately 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, as the game will follow the Women’s Soccer Game, which kicks off at 1 p.m.