York gets set to host the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) women’s field hockey championship this weekend at Lamport Stadium in Toronto. The Lions have a legitimate shot at claiming the OUA title as York finished second in the OUA with a 10-2-2 record. York is led by Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) scoring leader Lauren Conforzi. This past weekend, Conforzi scored 10 times in three victories to earn her second Athlete of the Week award. The Lions enter the OUA championship as the No. 2-ranked team, which means they will enjoy a bye in the first round of games. York’s first game will take place Saturday, Oct. 28 at 2pm against the winner of the match between Guelph University and the University of Prince Edward Island. Check the Sport York Web site for a complete championship schedule.
Right: Laren Conforzi
This Wednesday, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams will play host to the first round of OUA playoff action. For the men, who finished third in the OUA West division with 20 points, York will face McMaster at 12pm at York Stadium. The Lions have outscored McMaster 10-1 in two victories this season. York finished the regular this weekend, defeating Windsor 1-0 before falling 2-0 to No. 9 Western. The women’s team enters the playoffs riding an eight-game undefeated streak. During this stretch, the Lions have not allowed a goal against. On Saturday, the squad played to a 1-0 victory over Windsor before topping the Western Mustangs 2-0 on Sunday. Following the men’s playoff game on Wednesday, the women will play the Waterloo Warriors at 2pm at York Stadium. York went 1-0-1 in two contests with Waterloo this season.
Right: Lions goaltender Melanie Quinn in action
It was an excellent week on the ice for the men’s and women’s hockey teams as they both went 2-0 in league play. For the men, head coach Bill Maguire won his first regular season game behind the bench for the Lions, 3-1 over the Ryerson Rams on Wednesday. The following evening, the team skated to a 2-0 win over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. This week’s Male Athlete of the Week, goaltender Kevin Druce, backstopped the squad to both victories, posting 34 saves against Ryerson and 32 in the shutout over U of T. The women’s team had an equally successful week as they skated to a pair of victories over Brock and Western. All-Canadian goaltender Melanie Quinn was outstanding between the pipes in both contests for the Lions, as they edged the Badgers 2-1 and the Mustangs 3-2 in overtime. Both teams are on the road this week.
Right: Kevin Druce
The Lions cross country team heads to Kingston this weekend for the OUA Championships. At last year’s championship, the women’s team finished seventh, while the men wound up in 13th.
In volleyball, both the men and women fell in their season openers against the Toronto Varsity Blues. This week, the squads are off to Laurier and Waterloo for a pair of away games.
Men’s water polo split a pair of weekend games. After falling 17-8 against McMaster, the team responded with a convincing 23-6 victory over Western. On the women’s side, the Lions fell short in their only game of the week, 11-5, to the Marauders. Both squads are at Queen’s this weekend for a pair of games.
In badminton, the team improved to 2-1 on the year after posting a tight 7-6 victory over Ryerson. This Saturday, the Lions play host to the Western Mustangs.
A pair of York squads saw their seasons come to end last week. The women’s rugby squad fell 31-17 to Waterloo in the OUA Quarterfinals, while football came up short, 13-8 against Waterloo in the regular season finale.
Exhibition play continued for both basketball squads. The women won all three of their games: 65-45 over St. Mary’s University, 72-59 over Laval University and 78-68 over the University of Quebec at Montreal. The men dropped their only contest of the week, 70-63, to the University of Alberta.
This article was submitted to YFile by Steven Reid, sport & recreation information assistant in York’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health.