The No. 2 nationally ranked York University Lions women's soccer team started its run in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs with a 3-0 victory over the University of Guelph Gryphons in their quarter-final game at York Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Coming off hot from the regular season with a 15-0-1 record and two wins against the Gryphons in their past two meetings, the Lions were deemed the favourite heading into the match and they did not disappoint. They scored three goals in the second half to reach the OUA Final Four Championships for the first time since 2009.
The Lions completely dominated the first half, with 11 shots on goal as opposed to zero by the Gryphons. Windy conditions denied goals from Charlene D'Mello and Sydney Hoareau, but the points would come in the second half when the Lions broke through with relentless attack. More details on the York Lions website.
Men’s soccer Lions edge Gryphons in OUA quarter-final overtime thriller
The No. 3 nationally ranked York University Lions men's soccer team earned an exciting 4-3 overtime victory over the visiting University of Guelph Gryphons in their OUA quarter-final match at York Stadium on Sunday evening.
The two teams traded goals throughout the contest and produced a thrilling finish. With the score tied 2-2 and overtime imminent, it looked like the Lions had pulled out the victory when in the 89th minute, Tyrone Downes dove in front of his defender to head the ball home off of a Malcolm Loukides cross to give the Lions a 3-2 lead.
However, the Gryphons did not lose hope and tied the score in the dying seconds of injury time. The ball was crossed to the back post and despite Colm Vance's acrobatic efforts to pull off a sensational save, Chris Jacovou was able to head the ball past his fingers and force the match into overtime. More details.
Field hockey Lions finish fourth after loss to Warriors
The York University Lions field hockey team finished in fourth place at the OUA Final Four Championships with a 1-0 loss to the University of Waterloo Warriors in the bronze-medal match at the University of Toronto's Back Campus Fields on Saturday afternoon.
The end result was the same as where they finished last year. The Warriors also avenged their loss to the Lions at last year's championships, which happened in the quarter-finals and denied them a chance to play for a medal.
The Lions and Warriors played a tight defensive battle for most of the contest, and the low-scoring affair was thanks mostly in part to the goaltenders – Waterloo's Hilary Neeb and York's Alycia Gray, who each came up with numerous saves to keep the game close. More details.
Cross country squads finish 11th at OUA championships
The York University Lions men's and women's cross country teams both finished in 11th place at the OUA championships at Columbia IceField on Saturday afternoon in Waterloo, Ont.
Leading the way for the Lions in the men's 10km race was Suraj Sharma, who crossed the line in 44th place in a time of 33:05.4. Less than 30 seconds later, teammate Brandon Belan finished his race in a time of 33:38.9 for a 52nd-place result.
Newcomer Nina Sieh was the team's top finisher in the women's 6km race, ending up in 46th place in a time of 22:53.4. The next two Lions finishers were Giulia Ferrante and Maria Markovac in 53rd and 69th place, respectively. Ferrante's time was 23:06.7 and Markovac finished in 23:42.4. More details.
Men’s hockey Lions top Varsity Blues for fifth win in seven games
The York University Lions men's hockey team defeated the cross-town rival University of Toronto Varsity Blues Saturday night by a score of 4-2 on home ice at Canlan Ice Sports.
Seven minutes into the first period, Derek Sheppard broke into Varsity Blues territory and with an inside hesitation followed by an outside move, went bar down on Blues goaltender Brett Willows to break the scoreless game. Assists were from Tyler McGee and Greg Milner. More details.
One night earlier, the Lions attempted a late comeback but it wasn’t enough as the squad fell to the Ryerson University Rams by a score of 6-4 at the Mattamy Athletics Centre. The game began with quick Ryerson goal just over a minute in from Michael Fine, which was followed by another Rams goal from Keevin Cutting.
The Lions were held scoreless in the first, but in the second period after the Rams tallied another goal extending their lead to three, Trevor Petersen scored his first of two power play goals on the night with assists going to Derek Sheppard and Colton Vannucci. More details.
Women’s hockey Lions come back to defeat Golden Hawks in shootout
The York University Lions women's hockey team came away with a dramatic 4-3 shootout victory on home ice against the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks on Friday night at Canlan Ice Sports.
A goal by Amy Locke with just 50 seconds remaining on the clock gave the Lions a point, and they finished off the comeback in the shootout when Rianna Langford scored the only goal on York's first shot. More details.
Also this weekend, the Lions were handed a 3-0 defeat by the Brock University Badgers in St. Catharines, Ont. The Badgers grabbed an early 1-0 lead early in the first period at 2:14 with a goal from Cara Sayles. However, the Lions were quick to bounce back with relentless pressure, launching 13 shots on Badgers goaltender Stephanie Loukes to try and level the score, but to no avail. More details.
Top-ranked Marauders take down No. 10 men’s volleyball Lions in straight sets
In a match-up of nationally ranked teams, the No. 10 York University Lions men's volleyball team was shutout by the No. 1 McMaster University Marauders 3-0 on Saturday night in Hamilton, Ont.
The Lions came close to securing a win in the second set, executing off eight kills, forcing eight errors in the opponent's end and outnumbering the Marauders in attacks (30-26). However, the Marauders were able to come away with a close 25-22 win to round out the set. More details.
On Friday night, the Lions were topped in four sets by the University of Waterloo Warriors. The first two sets were extremely close with the Warriors barely coming away with the wins. In the first set the Lions out-tallied their opponents with 15 kills and 34 attacks, however due to a few errors, the Warriors were able to steal enough points to win the set with a score of 25-21. More details.
Women’s volleyball Lions swept by Gee-Gees in home opener
The York University Lions women's volleyball team made its home debut with a 3-0 loss against the rival University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Friday evening at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
Taking the first set 25-16 were the Gee-Gees, who gave the Lions a lot of trouble defensively. However, the Lions did well off of the rallies, grabbing points along the way to narrow the score to 16-11 mid-way through the set. Kirsten Dillon was agile off the ball to give her team eight assists, while Sarah Williams tallied 13 attacks and six digs. More details.