The York University Lions women’s soccer team was crowned Ontario University Athletics (OUA) champions on Saturday, Nov. 2 with a 2-0 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues in the gold medal final at Gee-Gees Field in Ottawa.
The title is the Lions’ first since 2009 and the fourth overall in program history (2005, 2007, 2009). The Varsity Blues settled for silver, tying their best ever finish.
The scoring happened early as both goals were scored in the opening 18 minutes of the match. The first came in the 11th minute off a corner by Joselyn Gagliardi. The ball sailed into the box and ricocheted off Varsity Blues defender Anna Crone and into the net, giving the Lions a 1-0 lead on the Toronto own goal.
Seven minutes later, the Lions were awarded a free kick that was taken by Jotam Chouhan. The rebound found Jessica Lush all alone in front of the net and she made no mistake, firing home the ball to increase the lead to 2-0.
The Lions had several more opportunities in the first half, including two shots that were saved by Toronto goalkeeper Levanta Staggolis, but the score remained the same heading into the break.
There was little action in the second half as the Lions settled back defensively and prevented the Blues from generating any real offensive chances.
York goalkeeper Danitza Indacochea made five saves in the game, none of them off dangerous chances. Staggolis finished with seven saves.
The Lions and Blues both qualified for the U SPORTS championships with their semifinal wins on Friday and will head to Victoria next week for the eight-team national tournament.