The York University Lions men’s hockey team picked up their second victory of the weekend on Saturday night with a 3-0 win over the Brock University Badgers at Canlan Ice Sports.
The win was a crucial one for the Lions, giving them a 14-8-1 record for 29 points and moving them back into second place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West standings.
Goaltender Mack Shields showed the form that earned him OUA West rookie of the year and U SPORTS all-Canadian honours last year, picking up his second shutout of the season with a 27-save performance. More details on the York Lions website.
On Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, Colton Vannucci scored the go-ahead goal with just over seven minutes remaining to give the Lions a 3-2 victory over the Ryerson University Rams in front of a raucous crowd in the inaugural game of the Subway Series.
More than 300 Lions fans travelled downtown on the new Line 1 TTC subway extension for the game and were treated to a thriller between two of the top teams in the OUA West standings. The Lions scored a pair of goals before the Rams were able to add one. Josh LaFrance scored in the first and Stefano Pezzetta scored just three minutes into the second. More details.
Women’s basketball Lions win second straight with victory over Varsity Blues
The York University Lions women’s basketball team trekked to downtown Toronto Friday night to take on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and picked up their second win of the week, defeating the Varsity Blues 71-66 at the Goldring Centre.
The Lions now have an 8-8 season record with four weeks remaining in the regular season, already three more wins than they amassed all of last year.
The game did not begin in the Lions’ favour. The Varsity Blues had a one-point lead on the Lions at the end of the first quarter, at 20-19. The Lions outscored them in the second quarter by two. At halftime, the Lions had a narrow lead of 34-33. More details.
On Wednesday night, the Lions featured a balanced scoring attack that saw six different players reach double digits in a big 89-78 victory over the Ryerson University Rams on the road.
The Rams got off to an early lead, but the Lions managed to catch up and tie the score 20-20 by the end of the first quarter. In the next two quarters, the Lions consistently outscored their opponents, scoring 21 points in the second and 23 in the third. By the end of the third, the Lions had established a 12-point lead and the score sat at 64-52. More details.
Men’s volleyball Lions let lead slip away in fourth, fall to Rams in five sets
The York University Lions men’s volleyball team had three match points in the fourth set but could not close it out and went on to fall in five sets to the Ryerson University Rams at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Saturday night.
In a match pitting the top two teams in the OUA East standings, the Lions raced out to an early lead by taking the first set 25-18. However, momentum shifted in the second and it was the Rams pulling ahead, ultimately taking the set by the same 25-18 score to level the match at 1-1. More details.
One day later the Lions were defeated in straight sets by the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. The Lions were defeated in the first set 25-17. They stepped up their game in the following two sets and saw some more positive results. The Lions had more success in the second set, finishing just four points behind at 25-22. More details.
Women’s volleyball Lions swept in straight sets by undefeated Rams
The York University Lions women’s volleyball team put up a fight but was ultimately outmatched by the undefeated Ryerson University Rams, who continued their perfect season with a 3-0 victory over the Lions at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Saturday night.
The match began as a close affair between the two squads, and a kill by Melissa Smillie made it 10-9. But from there the Rams scored 10 of the next 11 points to take a commanding 20-10 lead that they turned into a 25-12 opening-set win. More details.
On Sunday afternoon, the Lions took the first set 25-23 off the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, but ultimately fell in four sets. The second set did not go as well for the Lions, and the Varsity Blues reached the game-ending 25th point well ahead of the Lions. The set ended 25-18, and the match score went up to 1-1. More details.
Men’s basketball Lions pull close in fourth but fall to Rams
The York University Lions men’s basketball team suffered a tough loss to the Ryerson University Rams at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Wednesday night, falling by a score of 83-70.
A furious rally in the second half cut an 18-point deficit to just one with 6:24 remaining in the game, but the Rams outscored the Lions 17-5 down the stretch to record the victory. The Rams established a big lead in the first quarter that proved to be a serious challenge for the Lions to come back from. At the end of the first, the Lions trailed 18-7. More details.
Two nights later, the Lions were defeated by the University of Toronto Varsity Blues by a score of 73-56. The Lions initially got off to a small lead early in the first quarter, but the Varsity Blues caught up and a tightly fought battle ensued for the remainder of the quarter. In the end, the Varsity Blues led by one point at the end of the frame. More details.
Two late goals give Lakers victory over women’s hockey Lions
The York University Lions women’s hockey team allowed two late goals to the Nipissing University Lakers in a 3-1 defeat at Memorial Gardens in North Bay, Ont., on Saturday night.
Neither team scored in the first period, although the Lakers outshot the Lions 13-8 and York goaltender Eva Hall stood tall to keep the home team off the scoreboard.
The Lakers finally broke the deadlock at 7:22 of the second period on a goal by Zosia Baker. The lead was short-lived, however, as Kelsey McHolm levelled the score at 1-1 less than four minutes later on an unassisted tally, and the score remained tied heading into the final frame. More details.
Back in northern Ontario on Sunday afternoon, the Lions were blanked by the Laurentian University Voyageurs by a score of 2-0. The Voyageurs scored their first goal on a power play towards the end of the first period courtesy of Morgan McCann. More details.
Track and field Lions win 11 medals at annual Fred Foot Meet in Toronto
The York University Lions track and field team had another solid weekend of competition, this time at the Fred Foot Meet at the University of Toronto. The squad combined to win 11 medals, record nine personal bests and have 24 OUA automatic qualifiers.
Leading the way was a pair of gold medals courtesy of Tohma Van Bergen and Kaitlin Brooks. Van Bergen ran a personal-best time of 36.06 seconds in the men’s 300m to finish in first place in the race, and Brooks threw a 12.62m in the women’s shot put to win the event.
In addition, the men’s and women’s 4x200m relay teams finished in first place in their respective races. Running for the men were Demari Grant, Quinn Charles, Xavier Joseph and Zeon Bass, and the women’s runners were Nicolette Witherspoon, Marvelous Agbonwaneten, Diana Boa and Zakiya Tavernier. More details.