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The York University Lions will be in action for the last time before 2010 this weekend as the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) schedule winds down. The track & field team will see its first action of the year on Saturday, and also at home this weekend are the men’s and women’s hockey teams and the women’s volleyball team.
Right: Courtney Unruh of the Lions women's hockey team. Photo by Alex Pylyshyn.
The track & field squad will be hosting the 10th annual York University Christmas Open on Saturday at the Metro Toronto Track & Field Centre. It marks the first opportunity for the Lions to compete against athletes from across the OUA as their 2009-2010 season begins. The student-athletes will be looking to secure OUA and Canadian Interuniversity Sport qualifying standards early with solid performances at their home meet. At least year’s event, the Lions recorded 17 top-three finishes.
A PDF of the schedule of events is available on the Sport York Web site.
The women’s hockey team returns to Canlan Ice Sports for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday against the Western Mustangs (5-8-1) and Windsor Lancers (5-9), respectively. Both games are scheduled to begin at 2pm.
The Lions won six games in a row before their streak came to an end last weekend. Still, they have put together a stellar 8-4 record and are currently tied for third in the OUA standings with 16 points. The team has been getting it done mostly in their own end as the defence has allowed only 24 goals, second fewest in the OUA. The Lions also have two scorers among the league’s top 20 in Courtney Unruh and Mandy Cole.
York has already played each team once so far this year, recording a 3-1 win over the Lancers and a 3-2 defeat to the Mustangs.
The men’s hockey team (7-7-1) will be on the road to Waterloo to face the Laurier Golden Hawks (10-4-1) on tonight and will return home on the weekend for a game against the Guelph Gryphons (6-7-2) on Saturday at 7pm.
The Lions won their last game by a 3-2 score over the Brock Badgers and are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. In their earlier meeting with the Gryphons this season they defeated Guelph 3-2 in a shootout.
Finally, the women’s volleyball team will play a make-up game against the Royal Military College Paladins (0-5) on Sunday beginning at 1pm at the Tait McKenzie Centre. The Lions find themselves back in familiar territory as they hold down top spot in the OUA East division with a 5-2 record. The team is currently tied with the University of Toronto Varsity Blues for the division lead. Regardless of Sunday’s outcome, they will head into the December break in first place in the OUA East. The Lions have never lost to the Paladins and a win in this game will put them alone atop the division standings.
Submitted by Alyson Fisher, sport & recreation information officer with Sport York