York University Lions women’s tennis player Valerie Ushanova won the silver medal in the singles competition at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) tennis championships on Sunday afternoon at the Mayfair Parkway Tennis Club.
Ushanova, who was the defending champion of the event, came up against the dominant Kim Polisois of the Universite de Montreal Carabins in the final. Ushanova had chances to close out each set but ultimately fell 7-6, 7-5 to settle for the silver medal.
Valerie Ushanova
The result was her second silver medal showing of the weekend, as she also teamed with Julia Kedrzycki to finish second in the top flight doubles draw. They were defeated by a score of 8-6 by Toronto’s Aya Barra and Stefi Wong.
She helped the Lions finish in third place in the team standings, up one place from last year. The men finished in a tie for fifth place with the McMaster Marauders. More details on the York Lions website.
Women’s rugby Lions’ season ends with quarter-final loss to McMaster
The York University Lions women’s rugby team saw its season come to an end on Friday night with a 37-0 loss to the McMaster University Marauders in their OUA quarter-final game in Hamilton, Ont.
Playing under the lights at Ron Joyce Stadium, the Marauders grabbed an early lead on a penalty goal by Stephanie Black and a try from Heidi Henderson to make the score 10-0 in favour of McMaster before the game was 10 minutes old. The Marauders continued to pressure the visiting Lions and scored tries by Jenn Lemon and Cindy Nelles to take a 20-0 lead after the first half. More details.
Men’s hockey Lions stay undefeated with win over Lakers
York University Lions men’s hockey captain Jesse Messier‘s two-point performance and strong defensive play helped lift the squad to victory Saturday, downing the Nipissing University Lakers on home ice by a score of 4-2. Messier notched one goal, his third of the season, as well as an assist in the game and is now tied with two other players, including teammate Michael Lombardi for the early lead in the OUA scoring race.
With the win, the Lions remain a perfect 3-0-0 on the season and are one of six teams in the OUA West Division with an unblemished record to start the year. More details.
Earlier in the week, the Lions defeated the Laurentian University Voyageurs by a score of 6-1 in their home opener at Canlan Ice Sports.
Lombardi had four points on the night, with one goal and three assists, while Messier and Michael Santini each recorded two goals and one assist.
The opening period began without much fanfare as neither team was able to generate much offensively. The Lions broke the deadlock 13 minutes in on a goal by defenceman Sam Gilbert, his first of the season. More details.
Golden Hawks earn draw with men’s soccer Lions with late goal
Jonathan Lao continued his amazing debut season for the No. 3 York University Lions men’s soccer team on Saturday, notching two goals on the day to maintain a 2-2 draw with the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks at York Stadium.
Lao now has a team leading 10 goals on the season, which is good enough for second in the OUA. The Lions move to 10-2-1 with the draw, and second in the OUA West.
Lao fired his first shot at Golden Hawks goaltender Brett Harrington in the 19th minute to force a tough save. More details.
The Lions also earned a 2-0 victory over the University of Guelph Gryphons on Friday afternoon. Both squads looked energetic in the early going as the two teams engaged in a quick-passing, fast-paced first half. Tyrone Downes established his dominance from the outset, setting up a beautiful crossing attempt in the 18th minute that beat Guelph goaltender Niklas Wetterling, but he was unable to reach a Lions foot for the conversion.
Downes again would challenge Wetterling only two minutes later when he ripped through the Gryphon defence and fired a hard strike past the diving Guelph goalie. The shot would sail just wide right however, as the 0-0 draw held strong.
But the suffocating Lions attack had Guelph playing pinned deep and the team looked to finally capitalize. Downes continued to shine, and would launch a beautiful curving lead pass to teammate Joseph Cicchillo, who hammered a laser shot top shelf for the score, jumping out in front 1-0. More details.
Laurier scores late goal to defeat women’s soccer Lions
The York University Lions women’s soccer team dropped a tough 2-1 decision to the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks at York Stadium.
Though the first half would end in a draw, it would not be for lack of opportunity. York’s first scoring chance came in the 10th minute off of a Shannon Wood free kick attempt in front of the Golden Hawks goal. Wood’s shot was marked for the back of the net but goalkeeper Maggie Carmichael would just get enough of the ball on a desperate diving save to knock it over the crossbar. More details.
One day earlier the Lions earned a 1-1 draw with the second-place University of Guelph Gryphons. The Lions’ effort was led by last year’s OUA and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) rookie of the year, Nour Ghoneim, who continued her recent hot streak by scoring her fifth goal in six games.
Despite remaining scoreless after the first half, York was able to orchestrate several scoring opportunities that turned up the pressure on Guelph early. In just the 10th minute of play, Sarah Wong would send a well-placed corner attempt in front of the Gryphons goal, forcing a tough save by goalkeeper Alexandra King. More details.
Women’s hockey Lions topped by Lancers in high-scoring affair
The York University Lions women’s hockey team was defeated by the University of Windsor Lancers on Sunday afternoon in a high-scoring contest that ended in a 7-5 score at South Windsor Arena in Windsor, Ont.
Andrea Joyce continued her torrid scoring pace to start the season, recording one goal and three assists to bring her total to seven points in just three games. She is tied for the early scoring lead in the OUA.
Teammate Lisa Stathopulos also had a big game with two goals and one assist, and she has six points in three games so far this year. More details.
One day earlier, the Lions were edged by the Western University Mustangs on a third-period goal that handed York a 4-3 loss at Thompson Arena in London, Ont.
The Lions held leads of 1-0 and 3-2 in the contest, but each time the Mustangs were able to tie it up. They eventually went ahead for good on the only goal scored in the third period, off the stick of Jessica Sorensen at the 6:29 mark of the final frame. More details.
Field hockey Lions fall to Gryphons in first game on new turf
The York University Lions field hockey team played its first ever game on the new turf at York Stadium on Saturday morning, falling by a score of 3-0 to the second-place University of Guelph Gryphons.
The first half was a tightly-contested affair with the two teams trading chances but unable to find the back of the net. The Lions looked to have taken a 1-0 lead late in the half but the goal was called off. That was as close as either team would get to scoring in the opening 35 minutes and they entered the half 0-0. More details.