In what was a thriller of a mid-season finale, the York University Lions women’s hockey team defeated the No. 7 nationally ranked Nipissing University Lakers 6-3 at home on Saturday night (Nov. 30) in front of a packed crowd during the Annual Varsity Holiday Social.
The Lions vibrant presence was most evident in the final period of the game when there were a total of six goals scored between both the Lions and the Lakers. The Lions were leading 2-1 by the beginning of the frame before both teams loaded up on the offensive ends. More details on the York Lions website.
After a couple of tough weekends, the Lions bounced back in dominating fashion to drop the Laurentian University Voyageurs 4-0 at Canlan Ice Sports the night before.
Following a scoreless first period, Lions forward Kara Washer got the Lions on the board on the power play after a cross checking penalty. The goal was assisted by Brooke Anderson and Caroline Eagles. Five minutes later, the home team doubled their lead thanks to Tayler Murphy after a quick pass from Washer, putting the Lions up 2-0 at the end of the second. More details.
Straight sets sweep gives men’s volleyball Lions fourth win of the season over Paladins
On Friday, the York University Lions men’s volleyball team defeated the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins in a 3-0 sweep to end their final game of calendar year at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
In the first set, the Lions came out with a service ace from Aleksander Grzegorczyk. They continued to widen their lead with a kill from Andriy Sozanskyy, followed by a kill from Andrew Shotbolt. The Paladins got a kill of their own from Justin Benoit, but the Lions answered back with another kill, this time from Andrew Tauhid. Dan Everton scored an excellent service ace to widen the lead, followed by a quick kill from Shotbolt and a kill from Tauhid to close the first set 25-16. More details.
Women’s volleyball Lions end fall schedule with 3-0 sweep over Paladins
On Friday, the York University Lions women’s volleyball team swept the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins 3-0 at home at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions came out hard in the first set as they dominated the scoreboard early with a block from Ottawa native Wesley-Ann Bailey followed by back-to-back service aces from Tara Leithead and led for the majority. Sarah Williams scored a quick kill against the Paladins, closing the first set 25-12. More details.
25-point margin gives women’s basketball Lions win over Thunderwolves
The York University Lions women’s basketball team beat the Lakehead University Thunderwolves 82-57 on Saturday night to finish off their final game of 2019.
York’s Megan MacLeod had a stellar game, matching her season-high with 20 points against the Thunderwolves. Two of her teammates were also able to score in the double-digit range, Katrina Collins-Samuels with 19 points and Lauren Golding with 14. More details.
The Lions faced the Thunderwolves twice on the weekend. The first game did not go in their favour as they fell by one point, 67-66 at CJ Sanders Fieldhouse.
The Lions came out aggressive in the opening frame, with three pointers from MacLeod and Megan Stewart to give the visitors an early 13-9 lead. Golding scored six straight points to open the second quarter. Stewart and MacLeod continued to pour in shots, only extending the Lions lead in the frame going into halftime up 33-26. More details.
Track and field Lions win five medals at Xmas Open meet
The York University Lions track and field team won five medals at its annual Xmas Open meet at the Toronto Track and Field Centre on Saturday.
Leading the way was Lions newcomer Holly Taylor, who spent two seasons in the NCAA before transferring to York. She won gold medals in both throwing events, finishing first in the weight throw with a distance of 16.30m and in the shot put with a throw of 12.19m. She is currently ranked No. 1 in the weight throw in U SPORTS.
Also claiming a gold medal was rookie middle distance runner Abdullahi Abdullahi, who crossed the finish line first in the 1000m with a time of 2:47.1. More details.
Late goals lift Warriors over men’s hockey Lions on the road
The York University Lions men’s hockey team suffered a narrow 4-3 loss to the University of Waterloo Warriors at Columbia Ice Fields on Friday night.
It was an action-packed first period that featured four goals overall with 10 different players registering points. The Lions got off to an early lead with back-to-back goals in the first half of the opening frame. Dylan Riley got the visitors going early with an early goal assisted by Morgan Messenger and David D’Agostino. 9:55 into the frame, Braydon Buziak doubled their lead thanks to quick passes from D’Agostino and Riley.
The Warriors answered back with two goals in the span of two minutes, with the second coming just thirty seconds shy of the intermission to knot the score at 2-2. More details.
On Thursday night, the Lions fell on the road to the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks by a 5-2 score in Waterloo, Ont. The Golden Hawks opened the scoring early with an unassisted goal by Danny Hanlon less than two minutes into the opening period. York would equalize before the first intermission off a power-play goal from Buziak assisted by Alex Mowbray and Jeremy Lucchini to make the score 1-1. More details.
Late free throws clinch game as men’s basketball Lions fall to Thunderwolves on the road
It was a tight battle in Thunder Bay, Ont., as the York University Lions men’s basketball team fell to the No. 6 nationally ranked Lakehead University Thunderwolves 85-83 at the CJ Sanders Fieldhouse on Friday night.
The first quarter was a neck-and-neck battle with both sides fighting for an early lead. A pair of guards in MJ Forbes and Alex Thielen kept the Lions in the fight early on with late baskets and crucial rebounds closing out the quarter down 18-17. More details.
The following night the two squads faced off again, with the Thunderwolves rolling to a 91-63 victory. The Thunderwolves raced to an early lead against the Lions 16-8 in the first quarter, but the Lions began to find their footing as the second progressed. After a pair of jump shots from Nick Russell, the Lions cut the deficit to five with the score at 24-19. More details.