It’s Frosh Frenzy week at York University and the men’s and women’s soccer teams will host the McMaster Marauders in their annual game presented by Pizza Pizza on Thursday evening in front of thousands of first-year students.
Last year, more than 2,500 students packed Alumni Field to watch the Lions earn a pair of wins over the Waterloo Warriors, and this year the action promises to be even more exciting with the rival Marauders in town for their first of two meetings this season. The women’s game will kick off first at 6pm, followed by the men at 8:15pm. Both games can also be seen live online on OUA.tv.
Neither Lions team has had the start to the season they were hoping for but there is still plenty of soccer left to be played. The men already have two losses this season, the first time since 2013 they’ve hit that mark, but they are still poised to make some noise in the division. Their two victories were dominant shutouts – a 2-0 triumph over Windsor in which they out shot the Lancers 24-0 and a 4-0 win over Laurier last weekend – while their two losses came by a single goal each to No. 3 Guelph and Western.
McMaster is one of their fiercest rivals and the two squads have played some thrilling games over the last several years, including in back-to-back OUA finals in 2014 and 2015. The Lions have had McMaster’s number in the last three years with an 8-0-1 record against the Marauders in their last nine contests (including playoffs) and will look to continue that run this week.
This year’s Marauders are 3-1-0 with wins over Waterloo, Laurier and Windsor and a 2-1 loss to Western.
The Lions women, meanwhile, are 0-3-1 with a draw against Windsor earning them their one point in the standings, as well as one-goal losses to Western, Guelph and Laurier. They have played a strong possession game but are still looking for an offensive outburst after scoring just once in their first four contests.
The Marauders are also looking for their first win of the season after three ties and a loss in their first four games. They started opening weekend with 2-2 draws with Waterloo and Laurier, and last week lost to Western 1-0 and then tied Windsor 1-1.
Like the men, the Lions women are unbeaten against the Marauders in the last three seasons with a 6-0-1 record.
The Lions and Marauders will renew their rivalry one more time this season, in Hamilton, Ont., on Friday, Oct. 6 when York travels to Ron Joyce Stadium for a pair of games on Thanksgiving weekend.