The University of Toronto Varsity Blues defeated the host York University Lions 1-0 in a shootout on Sunday evening, Nov. 7, to win the Ontario University Athetics (OUA) men’s soccer championship at York Stadium.
Toronto and York, who finished first in the OUA East and West divisions, respectively, were evenly matched throughout the game and a shootout was a fitting end.
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| Above: York Lion Moreno Alberti takes on a player from the University of Toronto Varsity Blues during the OUA men’s soccer champtionship at York stadium. Photo by Alex Pylyshyn. |
The Lions got into the championship final with a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory over the Ryerson University Rams in the second semifinal, while the Varsity Blues defeated the University of Western Ontario Mustangs 3-1 in Saturday’s first game.
The Lions advanced to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national championships next weekend, while the Varsity Blues had already booked a spot as tournament hosts. See more details on the York Lions website.
Tyndale drains last-second shot for upset win in men’s basketball
York University Lions point guard David Tyndale had the arena buzzing with excitement on Saturday night, Nov. 6, as he drained the game-winning jumper with 1.7 seconds left to defeat the nationally ranked University of Western Ontario Mustangs by a score of 72-70 at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
In what was an incredibly intense affair from start to finish, Tyndale’s game winning heroics provided a fitting finish. Following a foul on Western with four seconds left on the clock, York’s final play was perfectly executed with Tyndale catching the inbounds pass and bringing the ball across the key before launching the jumper over the outstretched arm of the defender. More details.
Earlier in the weekend, the Lions went down by a 108-89 score to the visiting University of Windsor Lancers in the season opener for both teams on Friday night, Nov. 5, at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
Windsor held a slim five-point lead after one quarter but opened up the game in the second to take a 58-34 lead into the halftime break. But the Lions worked hard to close the gap in the third and got to within nine thanks to a huge three-pointer by Tyndale.
That was as close as they would get, however, as the Lancers pulled away again and cruised to the victory. More details.
Unruh scores in overtime for win over Gaels in women’s hockey
Team captain Courtney Unruh provided the game-winning heroics for the York University Lions women’s hockey team in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Queen’s University Gaels on Sunday afternoon at Canlan Ice Sports York.
The dramatic ending couldn’t have been written any better for Unruh as she found herself all alone in front of the net against Gaels goalie Mel Dodd-Moher. Unruh’s hard slap shot was stopped by Dodd-Moher, but with the puck still active she stayed with the play and brought the puck back near the blue line, where she waited to set up another chance. Stick-handling with precision, Unruh pulled her stick back and fired a blistering shot that beat Dodd-Moher for the victory.
Unruh also picked up a goal in the second period, giving her four on the season to go along with four assists. More details.
The previous day, the Lions got back into the win column with a 3-0 victory over the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks at Canlan Ice Sports. More details.
Women’s volleyball Lions remain undefeated with win over Ottawa
York University Lions middle Kristina Vlcek was the fifth-set hero for the women’s volleyball team as they defeated the visiting Ottawa Gee-Gees 3-2 at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Sunday afternoon.
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| Above: Lions volleyball player Brandie Wilkerson in action during game action on Sunday. The Lions defeated the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 3-2 at the Tait McKenzie Centre. Photo by Alex Pylyshyn. |
Both teams came into the contest undefeated but it was the Lions that emerged with their perfect record still intact with sets of 25-19, 13-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-13.
Vlcek came on strong in the fifth set with three strong kills, including the game winner, earning her the player of the game award. She finished with 13 points, including nine kills and two service aces, and added 11 digs. More details.
Men’s hockey Lions downed by Warriors
The York University Lions men’s hockey team lost their second game in as many nights Friday, falling to the University of Waterloo Warriors by a score of 4-1 in Waterloo.
The Lions, who were coming off a 5-0 loss to the Western Mustangs on Thursday night, again struggled to find chemistry on special teams, allowing two goals against on the penalty kill and scoring no goals on five power play opportunities.
David Blair and Justin Leclerc both made 24 saves in goal for their respective teams.
The Lions opened the scoring just eight minutes into the first period on a goal by Chad Hohmann, his third of the season. Hohmann is tied with captain Chris Jones for second in team scoring. More details.
Men’s volleyball Lions defeated by Lancers and Mustangs
The York University Lions men’s volleyball team was defeated 3-0 by the host University of Windsor Lancers on Friday night.
The Lions progressively got better as the game went on as they lost the sets 25-13, 25-18 and 25-23, but their efforts were not enough to overcome the Lancers.
Lions team captain Karim Khalil led the squad with nine points on nine kills, while rookie Nikola Sandic also took a stand in chalking up seven points on seven kills and added five digs. More details.
The following day, the Lions were overwhelmed by a still undefeated University of Western Ontario Mustangs squad as they used their strong serving skills to prevail in three straight sets (25-20, 25-14, 25-19) at Alumni Hall on Saturday night. More details.
Women’s basketball Lions open season with losses to Windsor and Western
The York University Lions women’s basketball team faced a stiff challenge against the top team in the country in its season opener and was defeated by the University of Windsor Lancers 89-49 on Friday night at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
Amidst a great atmosphere created by a number of young girls from local club teams who were in attendance, the Lions and Lancers battled back and forth but the Lions were simply overmatched by the talented Windsor squad. More details.
The following night, the Lions were overwhelmed by the No. 4 nationally-ranked University of Western Ontario Mustangs in a 64-41 loss in Saturday evening action at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
Early in the contest, the Mustangs capitalized repeatedly on holes in the Lions defence and found multiple open three pointers. The Lions managed to make things interesting for most of the first half as rookie Llyandra Kerr and third-year guard Kara Smith scored on multiple jumpers. More details.
Submitted by Alyson Fisher, sport & recreation information officer for Sport York