The York University Lions men’s soccer team defeated the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks by a score of 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field, capping an undefeated regular season.
The No. 1 nationally ranked Lions finished the year with a stellar 14-0-2 mark and won their sixth straight Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West Division title. As the top seeds, the Lions will have home field advantage throughout the conference playoffs and have secured a first-round bye.
The Golden Hawks held their own in the first half hour of the contest, but the Lions drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Adrian Pena scored on a play that originated on a free kick. More details on the York Lions website.
The Lions clinched the division title on Friday afternoon with a 7-0 win over the University of Waterloo Warriors. Shaun MacDonald netted a pair of goals, including the game winner, to lead all Lions. Also scoring were Pena, Carlos Nogueira, Giancarlo Rella, Nicolas Mejia and Martino Belligero. More details.
Ghoneim hat trick leads women’s soccer Lions past Marauders
Rookie striker Nour Ghoneim recorded her second straight hat trick to lead the York University Lions women’s soccer team to a 3-1 victory over the McMaster University Marauders in their home finale at York Stadium on last Wednesday afternoon.
Ghoneim who earned OUA and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) female athlete of the week honours last week after a six-goal performance in two games last week, continued her torrid scoring pace with another three goals in this game. Goalkeeper Sarah Fiorini earned the win in net, her seventh of the season, and allowed just her seventh goal in 14 games. More details.
Their second game of the week resulted in a 3-0 win over the University of Waterloo Warriors, which extended the Lions’ winning streak to four games.
The two teams started out slowly in the game as neither team could muster much of an offensive attack. As halftime neared the Warriors had managed two shots on Fiorini, while the Lions hadn’t yet recorded one. But defender Shannon Wood gave the Lions a lead with a goal in the 45th minute, her third of the season, for the 1-0 lead. More details.
The Lions closed the regular season with a 1-0 loss to the division-champion and No. 6 nationally-ranked Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks.
The loss was just their second of the season and they finish with a record of 8-2-6. Their 30 points is a 10-point improvement over last year and puts them in fourth place in the OUA West standings. The Lions will host the Guelph Gryphons in a first-round playoff game on Wednesday afternoon. More details.
Football Lions close season with loss to No. 5 Gryphons
The York University Lions football team was defeated by the No. 5 nationally-ranked University of Guelph Gryphons by a score of 39-18 in its season finale on Saturday afternoon at York Stadium.
The Gryphons earned their seventh straight victory of the season after an opening-week loss and had already wrapped up second place in the OUA standings prior to Saturday’s game. The Lions finished the year at 2-6 and missed qualifying for the post-season.
Running back Kyle Exume continued his impressive season with 61 rushing yards and two touchdowns, bringing his total for the season to nine. He also had 43 receiving yards on two completions, returned one kick 27 yards and had one tackle and one pass break-up on defence. More details.
Women’s volleyball Lions defeat Marauders for second straight win
The York University Lions women’s volleyball team started its season strongly this weekend, beating the McMaster University Marauders in three sets on Saturday at Burridge Gymnasium.
The Lions outscored the Marauders 25-18 in each set to take the win, keeping their intensity level up throughout the entirety of the match. York posted an impressive 35 kills in the match, compared to just 20 for the Marauders. More details.
The win came one day after a season-opening 3-1 victory over the Lakehead University Thunderwolves at home on Friday night. The Lions are now 2-0 on the season and 18-2 overall in their last 20 regular-season games against OUA competition.
The two teams began the match trading points back and forth, and the Lions held a narrow 16-15 lead over the Thunderwolves at the first technical timeout. The home team then turned up its intensity to take the first set 25-19.
The Lions continued to dominate the Thunderwolves in the second and rolled to the finish, winning 25-5. But the Thunderwolves quickly took control of the match at the start of the third and led throughout, earning a set for themselves by a score of 25-20.
Lakehead carried that momentum into the early part of the fourth set, but the Lions regained control and held a 16-9 advantage at the technical timeout. They continued their strong play after that, winning the fourth 25-16 for their first regular-season win. More details.
Stathopulos scores two in women’s hockey win over Warriors
Lisa Stathopulos scored two goals to lead the York University Lions women’s team to a 5-2 victory over the visiting University of Waterloo Warriors on Sunday afternoon at Canlan Ice Sports.
The forward scored the game’s third goal, which stood up as the winner, and added another late in the third period for her fourth goal of the season, matching the total she put up last year.
Despite early offensive pressure by the Lions, it was the Warriors who put themselves on the board first. Thanks to some very tricky stick dekes, Nicole Ballantyne was able to break free from the Lions’ defence and beat York goalie Megan Lee through the five-hole at just 1:33 of the first period. More details.
Earlier in the week, the Lions were defeated by the defending OUA champion Laurier Golden Hawks by a score of 3-2 in a shootout.
The Lions erased a two-goal deficit late in the third period with a pair of late goals, including the tying marker from team captain Chloe Milano with only 38 seconds remaining on the clock, which was assisted by Rebecca Bond and Kristie Wilson.
After playing a brief overtime period without a deciding goal, the two teams went to a shootout. Golden Hawk Candice Styles scored in the second round, while no York scorer was able to find the back of the net, giving Laurier the victory. More details.
Men’s hockey Lions top Badgers in home opener
The York University Lions men’s hockey team played its exciting home opener on Thursday evening, defeating the Brock University Badgers 4-2 at Canlan Ice Sports.
Four different players tallied goals in the victory, while goaltender Andrew Perugini was outstanding in net for his second win of the season.
The Lions jumped out to an early lead when Jordan Forfar made room outside the slot and fired a quick wrist shot past Badger goalie Dalton McGrath just 50 seconds into the first period, on York’s first shot of the game. The assist was given to John de Gray and the second to team captain Jesse Messier. More details.
Two days later, Colin Behenna of the University of Waterloo men’s hockey team scored the winning goal with 51 seconds left on the clock to defeat the Lions by a score of 4-3.
Behenna’s marker capped a big comeback victory for the Warriors, who fell behind 3-0 in the first period but scored four unanswered goals for the win. The loss drops the Lions to 2-2-0 on the season. More details.
Marauders top men’s volleyball Lions in three-set season opener
The York University Lions men’s volleyball team lost its season opener against the McMaster University Marauders, surrendering three straight sets on Saturday at Burridge Gymnasium in Hamilton, Ont.
The No. 4 nationally-ranked Marauders beat the visiting Lions by sets of 25-16, 25-19, and 25-20, as the Lions gradually improved throughout the match.
The Lions’ leading scorer was outside hitter Ray Szeto, who had 13 points on 12 kills and one service ace. He also added six digs. More details.