After a successful road trip that saw the York Lions men’s and women’s soccer teams go undefeated in four games, the squads return home to York Stadium this weekend for games against the Windsor Lancers (Saturday, 1pm and 3:15pm) and Western Mustangs (Sunday, 1pm and 3:15pm).
Last week, both teams played their first road games of the season. The men’s team, currently ranked No. 1 in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) coaches poll, cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Guelph Gryphons on Wednesday, thanks to a pair of goals by Francesco Bruno. Also scoring for York were Luca Forno and Branko Majsiorovic. On Sunday, against the Laurier Golden Hawks, the Lions were held to only one goal, another by Bruno, in a 1-1 game that was the first the team has not won all season. Still, with the tie York remains undefeated and atop the Ontario University Athletics’ (OUA) West division.
The women posted nearly identical results, defeating Guelph 5-1 and then forcing a 0-0 draw with the Golden Hawks. Scoring goals for York in the first game were Alicia Donaldson and Stephanie Junkin, who each netted a pair, and CIS leading scorer Stefania Morra. At 4-1-1, the Lions currently sit in first place in the OUA West division.
Soccer isn’t the only sport happening on campus. The Lions men’s hockey team will see its first action of the 2008-2009 campaign as the preseason begins on Wednesday with a game on the road against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. The squad will then return to Canlan Ice Sports for a four-team tournament over the weekend featuring Toronto-area teams the Lions, the Varsity Blues, the Ryerson Rams and the UOIT Ridgebacks.
The team starts of the season with a new head coach at the helm as assistant coach Kevin Forrest was hired on Monday to lead the squad this year. A strong recruiting class was brought in over the summer and the team looks poised to improve upon its 14-11-0-3 record from one year ago.
Also playing at home this weekend is the women’s rugby team. The squad is still looking for its first win of the season after falling to 0-3 this week following a 44-0 loss to the Guelph Gryphons at York Stadium.
The Lions football team is back on the road this week for a tilt against the McMaster Marauders (Friday, 7pm). Last week, the Lions fell to 0-4 after a 71-0 drubbing by the Western Mustangs, the No. 2-ranked team in the CIS. Overmatched from the start, York simply could not get anything going on offence as it was held off the scoreboard for the first time this season. On defence, rookie Arlond Lett recorded 10 individual tackles and assisted on another two.
It was good news for the Lions field hockey squad as the team had a much better second week of the season, going 1-1-1 in three games. On Saturday, the team first pulled off a scoreless draw with the Carleton Ravens and then later in the day recorded its first win of the year with a 1-0 victory over the Waterloo Warriors. The women were not as fortunate on Sunday, falling to the Guelph Gryphons 6-0. The team will look to build upon its success on Saturday when it plays its next game on Monday (Sept. 29, 5pm) against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.
In other action, both the men’s and women’s volleyball teams will be participating in tournaments over the weekend. The women will be in Montreal while the men are traveling to Mexico City. Finally, the men’s tennis team will be in Niagara/Buffalo for a non-conference match-up on Saturday and Sunday while the cross-country team will be in Waterloo.
Submitted to YFile by Alyson Grant, sport & recreation information officer.