The York University Lions women’s rugby team won its first game of the season on Friday night with a 33-20 victory over the Western University Mustangs in London, Ont.
The two squads faced off in a crucial game for playoff seeding in the Shiels Division, which has a new structure this year and features the top five teams in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) from last season. As the winners, the Lions are guaranteed to finish in fourth place and will have a chance to play for the medals in the playoffs.
It was actually the Mustangs that got on the board first, with Nikki Case opening the scoring in the second minute of play on a long run that found the end zone. More details on the York Lions website.
No. 9 Marauders use strong defence to defeat football Lions
The York University Lions football team faced a defensively tough opponent in the No. 9 nationally ranked McMaster University Marauders on Saturday afternoon and were defeated by a score of 32-2 at Ron Joyce Stadium.
The Marauders have one of the top defences in the OUA this season and the unit caused problems for the Lions offence throughout the game. At the other end of the field, the Lions played their own strong defence for much of the contest, holding the Marauders to just three points in the first quarter and 14 at the half. They also forced McMaster to kick four field goals inside the 20-yard line.
McMaster drove the field on its opening drive but the Lions stood tall in the red zone to hold the Marauders to just a field goal and a 3-0 lead. The Lions earned their lone point of the quarter on a punt into the end zone by Dante Mastrogiuseppe. More details.
Field hockey Lions continue undefeated season with another two wins
The York University Lions field hockey team continued its undefeated season with a pair of victories over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and Queen’s University Gaels on Sunday.
Coming off their first win over the three-time defending OUA champion Varsity Blues since 1999 last weekend, the Lions again proved they are the better team this season with a 3-1 victory over their city rivals.
The Lions have pounced on teams early all season and did so again against the Blues, with rookie Madison Mitchell scoring in the second minute of play for an early 1-0 lead. Fellow rookies Frankie St. Louis and Amira Brar added to the score in the second half to lead the Lions to the victory. More details.
Women’s tennis Lions finish season undefeated for fourth straight year
The York University Lions women’s tennis team earned a pair of wins over the Universite de Montreal Carabins and University of Waterloo Warriors on the final weekend of the regular season to finish undefeated for the fourth straight year.
The Lions have now won 26 straight regular-season matches after defeating Montreal 4-1 on Friday afternoon and Waterloo 6-1 on Saturday.
Against the reigning national silver-medal winning Carabins, Eugenie Lim Ah Tock, Isabella Baston, Sara Krupica and Randa Hassan all won their singles matches in straight sets to earn the four points the team needed to take the tie. More details.
Men’s soccer Lions hang on to defeat Warriors
The No. 9 nationally ranked York University Lions men’s soccer team took on the University of Waterloo Warriors Saturday at Alumni Field. After an intense second half in which they nearly gave up the lead, the Lions hung on to beat the Warriors 4-3.
Second-year midfielder Steve Kloutsouniotis scored the first goal for the Lions seven minutes into the playing time. Fellow midfielder Eddie Lay continued the scoring with a pair of goals in the 24th and 31st minutes. Rounding out scoring for the first half was Dylan Carreiro, who scored seconds before the referee whistled for halftime. The Lions led the Warriors 4-0 at halftime. More details.
The Lions also picked up a point against the Western University Mustangs on Sunday in a 1-1 draw after the Mustangs scored in the final minutes. The two squads always play a tough match against each other and this game was no different, with six yellow cards handed out before there was a goal scored.
The Lions outshot the Mustangs 8-3 in the first half and 8-5 in the second, and Western goalkeeper Kody Thomson had to make three saves in the opening 45 minutes, but the game remained scoreless at the half. More details.
Women’s soccer Lions tie Warriors for second time this season
The York University Lions women’s soccer team took on the University of Waterloo Warriors at home this Saturday and ended with a 0-0 draw.
They returned home to Alumni Field after visiting Guelph, Ont., and Waterloo, Ont. The Lions and Warriors met last weekend, where that game also ended in tie, by a score of 1-1. More details.
Also this weekend, the Lions were blanked by a score of 2-0 by the No. 4 nationally ranked Western University Mustangs. It didn’t take long for the Mustangs to get on the scoreboard, as Giulia Geraci and Julia Crnjac both found the back of the net before the game was 10 minutes old to give their team a 2-0 advantage they would not relinquish. More details.
Cross country Lions run personal bests at Don Mills Open in Waterloo
The York University Lions cross country team was in Waterloo, Ont., for the Don Mills Open this past weekend. They put up a number of strong performances, including two personal bests on the men's team.
Ali Ghadghoni and Sam Agnew both put up personal-best times in the 8km race, with Ghadghoni recording York's first top-five finish of the season in fifth place in a time of 26:12. Agnew finished exactly one minute later in 28th place.
In the women’s race, the Lions had four runners entered in the 6km event and were led by Vaishnavy Yogarajah in 44th place with a time of 25:56. Just behind her was Katrianna Pisani, running in her first ever race and finishing 46th with a time of 26:18. More details.