National exposure for the annual Red & Blue Bowl

The York Lions football squad looks to defend the Argo Cup this weekend when the team plays host to the Toronto Varsity Blues in the 37th Annual Red & Blue Bowl. The game, which kicks off at 2pm on Saturday at York Stadium, will be shown live nationally on The Score television network.


York has dominated the Red & Blue Bowl of late, winning each of the past 11 meetings. Last season saw one of the most exciting games as the Lions needed overtime to post a 40-33 victory.


This past weekend, York fell to 0-4 on the year after a 37-3 loss to the No. 5-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees. Both York and Toronto are winless this season. Toronto lost 66-14 to Guelph on the weekend and has lost 37 straight games.


Left: York falls to 0-4 on the year after a 37-3 loss to Ottawa on Saturday. Photo by Rita Abiog


The women’s field hockey team continued to pile up victories this past weekend. The squad sits alone in first place in the OUA with a perfect 5-0 record. Stefanie Mendonca scored York’s lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Guelph. In the team’s other game, Female Athlete of the Week, Lauren Conforzi scored twice in a 3-0 win over Queen’s. Conforzi is the nation’s top scorer with six goals in five games. The Lions defend their perfect record when they face Western and Queen’s this weekend.


Men’s soccer continued to roll as the Lions won their third straight game this past weekend. David Nogaro (right) scored twice in a span of two minutes to erase a 1-0 Guelph lead, giving York the 2-1 victory on Sunday. Nogaro’s efforts earned him Player of the Week honours. The second-year midfielder sits second in the CIS in scoring with five goals. The Lions look to continue their solid play this weekend when they travel to Brock to face the No. 7 Badgers. On Sunday the squad returns to York Stadium for a 1pm meeting with McMaster.


The women’s soccer team rebounded from their first set-back of the season a week ago with a 2-0 shutout over the Guelph Gryphons on Sunday. Goalie Aurelea Gumiela made a pair of saves for her fourth shutout of the year. First-half goals by Nicole Burling and Ashley DePalma led the offence. The Lions have two important games coming up this week when they face Brock and McMaster. Both teams are ahead of the Lions in the OUA West division standings.


The women’s rugby squad lost for the first time this year, 19-5, against the McMaster Marauders. The loss puts York a game behind the front-running Marauders in the standings. Kristina Lillakas scored York’s lone try. The team will look to regain top spot in the OUA when they travel to Trent on Friday for a 7pm showdown with the Excalibur.


The men’s tennis team wrapped up the regular season with a weekend split, falling 4-2 to Western before rebounding with a 5-2 win over Waterloo. The women’s tennis team faired much better going a perfect 4-0 on the weekend. OnSaturday, they defeated Western 5-1 and Waterloo 7-0. On Sunday they completed the weekend sweep topping Laurier 5-1 and McMaster 5-2. The post-season begins this weekend for both squads with the OUA Semifinals set for Saturday at Western.


Cross country was in action this past weekend in London for the Western International. Kaitlin Coopman led the women’s team with a 10th place result. She was followed by Fiona Turner in 18th. As a team the women placed seventh. For the men, Yuestas David clocked York’s fastest time, placing 47th. The men’s squad finished 12th overall. This week, both teams travel to Mt. Morris, NY for the Geneseo Invitational.


It’s a busy week on the exhibition schedule for several York teams. Men’s volleyball takes part in a preseason tournament this weekend at Ryerson, while the women’s volleyball is in Montreal. Men’s basketball is at the Brockville Tournament, while women’s hockey travels to the Queen’s Tournament.


The men’s hockey team skates Wednesday night against Toronto before hosting a weekend tournament featuring McGill, Western and Laurier.


For more information on York’s interuniversity sports teams, visit the Sport York Web site. 


This article was submitted to YFile by Stephen Reid, sport & recreation information assistant in York’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health.