Football is back!
Home openers and action on the soccer pitch dominate a great weekend of sports at York's Keele campus.
The Lions play their home opener this weekend in their annual Frosh Frenzy game, while the soccer teams are returning to the field looking to continue their undefeated seasons.
Football: York vs. Ottawa
Saturday, Sept. 8 at 1pm
Webcast: SSN Canada
The football team makes its debut at home this weekend against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees for the annual Frosh Frenzy game, which will see more than 4,000 first-year students in attendance at their first game. Both the Lions and Gee-Gees are coming off Week One losses but with different feels: the Lions played a solid game against the No. 6 Queen’s University Gaels in a 48-13 loss, while the perennially strong Gee-Gees were on the wrong end of a 63-18 blowout to the No. 10 University of Windsor Lancers. Ottawa got the best of York in their only meeting last season, winning 65-12 on its home field in Week 6. Saturday’s game is an interesting match-up between two teams at very different stages. The Lions had a strong off-season and brought in many new recruits to bolster an already an improving team, while the Gee-Gees are already loaded with talent – they finished fourth in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) last season at 5-3 – but went through significant coaching changes in the summer and are now led by former CFL head coach Gary Etcheverry.
Women’s Soccer: York vs. UOIT
Sunday, Sept. 9 at 1pm
Webcast: SSN Canada
The women’s soccer team went undefeated on its opening weekend and will look to continue that streak with just one game on the calendar this week. After a strong scoreless tie against the defending OUA silver medallists, the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks, to open the season, the Lions earned a 2-0 victory over the University of Waterloo Warriors on Sunday and they are one of three undefeated teams in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West who saw action this weekend. Coming to York Stadium on Sunday are the UOIT Ridgebacks, who are playing in their first ever season in the OUA, and as such, the Lions have never faced them. Despite being brand new to the league, the Ridgebacks already own their first victory, a 1-0 win over Windsor.
Men’s Soccer: York vs. UOIT
Sunday, Sept. 9 at 3:15pm
Webcast: SSN Canada
The men’s soccer team opened the 2012 campaign with two victories, 4-0 over Laurier and 1-0 over Waterloo, and is in familiar territory atop the OUA West standings with more goals scored than any other team in the division. The Lions, who opened at No. 9 in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) rankings on Tuesday, face a UOIT team this weekend that they have traditionally dominated. The Lions have never lost to the Ridgebacks and last year outscored them 10-1 in two regular season games.