The York University Lions soccer teams went undefeated in four games this weekend to close out the regular season, and were two of several Lions squads to post wins in Ontario University Athletics (OUA) action over the past week.
The men’s soccer team is now undefeated in 10 games and clinched the top spot in the OUA West with a 3-0 win over the University of Western Ontario Mustangs and a 0-0 draw with the University of Windsor Lancers. The Lions finished just one point ahead of the Lancers in the division standings. Goalkeeper Alim Karim recorded his fifth straight shutout and ninth of the season. Midfielder Francesco Bruno finished the regular season tied for the league lead in goals with eight.
The women’s soccer team pushed their unbeaten streak to eight with a 4-2 victory over Windsor and a 2-1 triumph over Western. They too have secured first place in the OUA West standings, five points ahead of the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks. Striker Ami Otaki is the OUA leader in goals with 14.
Both teams have earned first-round byes and will host an OUA quarter-final game on Saturday, Oct. 31, at York Stadium against opponents to be determined on Wednesday.
In other Lions action:
The men’s hockey team earned three of a possible four points with a 5-4 victory over the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks and a 4-3 overtime loss to the undefeated Laurier Golden Hawks. Captain Tyler Harrison had three assists in each game and is tied for the OUA lead with 10 points.
The women’s hockey team went 1-1 with a 3-1 win over the Windsor Lancers and a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Western Mustangs.
The men’s and women’s volleyball teams opened regular season play at home on Friday night against the University of Waterloo Warriors. The men defeated Waterloo 3-1 to win their fifth straight match (including four in exhibition contests), while the women were upended 3-1. The women got into the win column on Sunday, with a dominating straight-sets victory over the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. The men fell to the two-time defending OUA champion McMaster University Marauders 3-0 on Saturday.
The Lions field hockey team played out a scoreless match against the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday in the last game of the regular season. With the result, the team sewed up fifth place in the OUA standings and will face Waterloo in the first round of the playoffs this weekend.
The football team closed out the 2009 season with a 52-3 loss to the Waterloo Warriors.
The women’s cross country team finished second at the Brock University Open and the men were sixth. Kathryn Pistor recorded her second top-five finish of the year with a third-place showing to lead all Lions and was named York’s female athlete of the week.
The badminton team got its first victory of the season with a 9-4 win over the Ryerson University Rams at home. Kevin Cheng went undefeated for the second straight week and was named York’s male athlete of the week.
It was a busy weekend for the water polo teams as they travelled to Kingston to take on Carleton, Western and Queen’s. The men finished the weekend with a 2-2 record while the women were unable to secure a victory. The men played two close games on Saturday against the Carleton University Ravens but were eventually defeated 14-12 and 9-8. Things got much better on Sunday for the team as they defeated the Western Mustangs 10-6 and the Queen’s University Gaels 14-9. The women had a less profitable weekend, dropping their game against Carleton 19-2, and were marginally defeated by the Gaels 9-8.
Several of these teams will be in action this weekend with women’s hockey, water polo, men’s and women’s volleyball, and the women’s basketball season opener on the home calendar. In addition, the field hockey and cross country teams will be competing in their respective OUA championships. Field hockey will travel to London while the cross-country runners will be in St. Catharines.