LIONS LOOK AHEAD - WEEK OF NOV. 2
AT HOME
Men’s Soccer
2010 Record: 12-2-2 in regular season, 1-0 in playoffs
Last Week: Defeated Laurier 2-0 in OUA quarter-final
This Week: Host OUA Final Four Championships
The men’s soccer team will host the OUA Final Four Championships at York Stadium this weekend looking for its second OUA title in the last four years. The Lions earned the right to host the event after finishing first in the OUA West standings, one point ahead of the Western Mustangs, and defeating the Laurier Golden Hawks by a 2-0 score in an OUA quarter-final game on Saturday. Joining the Lions at the OUA championships are the Ryerson Rams, Toronto Varsity Blues and Western Mustangs. The Lions and Rams will face off in the second semifinal on Saturday, while the Varsity Blues and Mustangs will meet in the first one. The winners of both games will advance to the gold medal game on Sunday and will also earn a berth at the CIS national championships the following weekend. The Lions closed the regular season as the most offensive team in the league with 48 goals scored – 20 more than the Mustangs and 14 more than the OUA East-winning Varsity Blues – and have three players (Adrian Pena, Alon Badat and Moreno Alberti) among the league’s top 10 scorers.
Men’s Hockey
2010-11 Record: 4-4-0
Last Week: Defeated Lakehead 3-0, lost to Lakehead 5-2
This Week: Host Western (Thursday, Nov. 4, 7pm), At Waterloo
(Friday, Nov. 5, 7:30pm)
Last Meeting: York defeated Waterloo 5-3 and lost to Western 6-0 in
2010-11 regular season
The men’s hockey team is coming off a huge win over the Lakehead Thunderwolves, OUA silver medallists last year and perennial contenders, on Saturday night in Orillia. One day after a 5-2 loss to the same team, rookie goaltender Travis Rolheiser stood on his head and the rest of the team played well as the Lions earned a 3-0 shutout victory to improve to 4-4 on the season. The Lions will need an equally balanced performance on Thursday night, when they face the Western Mustangs and their impressive 6-0-1 record. The Mustangs are the top team in the OUA West with 13 points and have already defeated the Lions once this season, a 6-0 result in London two weeks ago. York’s other game of the weekend is on the road against the Waterloo Warriors, another top team who the Lions knocked off two weeks ago by a 5-3 score.
Women’s Basketball
2010-11 Record: 0-0
Last Week: N/A
This Week: Host Windsor (Friday, Nov. 5, 6pm) and Western
(Saturday, Nov. 6, 6pm)
Last Meeting: York lost to Windsor 66-49 and Western 69-54
The women’s basketball team remains one of the youngest in the OUA but the core is back this season and more knowledgeable about what it takes to succeed at the OUA level. The Lions are coming off a tough 3-19 season in 2009-10 but have an improved roster that will be shooting for an improvement in the East standings. In preparation for the regular season, which begins this weekend with games against Windsor and Western, the Lions played five pre-season games and went 2-3, with victories over Saint Mary’s and UPEI at the Mickey Place tournament in Prince Edward Island three weeks ago. Most recently, the team played its first game on home court against the Cape Breton Capers and were defeated 66-55. The Lions will be in tough against Windsor and Western, two teams ranked in the CIS national rankings in the first poll released this week. Windsor is No. 1 after winning the silver medal at the national championships last year and Western is at No. 4.
Men’s Basketball
2010-11 Record: 0-0
Last Week: N/A
This Week: Host Windsor (Friday, Nov. 5, 8pm) and Western
(Saturday, Nov. 6, 8pm)
Last Meeting: York lost to Windsor 94-55 and Western 94-61
The men’s basketball team returns to the court for their season-opening games this weekend and will be challenged immediately against the No. 6 Western Mustangs and the Windsor Lancers, who are not in the top 10 but did receive votes. The Lions bring their own momentum into the new season after a thrilling end last year in which they won their last two games to get into the playoffs and then knocked off the Toronto Varsity Blues in a first-round upset. In seven pre-season games the Lions went 4-3, including victories over Brock and UPEI at the Mickey Place Tournament in Prince Edward Island and, most recently, a dominating 91-67 win over Bishop’s on home court last weekend. The Lions also lost a close 74-72 game to the McGill Redmen at Tait last Friday in a game they were down by as many as 20 points.
Women’s Hockey
2010-11 Record: 1-6
Last Week: Lost to Toronto 3-2
This Week: Host UOIT (Saturday, Nov. 6, 2pm) and Queen’s
(Sunday, Nov. 7, 2pm)
Last Meeting: York defeated UOIT 4-1 and Queen’s 2-1 (SO) in
2009-10 regular season
The women’s hockey team continues to look for the same success it had last season as the Lions are currently at the bottom of the OUA standings with a 1-6 record. They are coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday, when Toronto scored the game-winning goal with just 50 seconds on the clock to steal the win. The Lions will look to get back into the win column this weekend with games against UOIT and Queen’s. The Lions have never lost to the Ridgebacks since they joined the OUA and have outscored them 39-16 in nine games played. The Lions also had a winning record against the Gaels last year, winning two of three games.
Women’s Volleyball
2010-11 Record: 2-0
Last Week: Defeated Toronto 2-0
This Week: Host Ottawa (Sunday, Nov. 7, 1pm)
Last Meeting: Ottawa defeated York 3-2 in 2009-10 regular
season
The women’s volleyball team is off to a perfect 2-0 start this season after a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over the Brock Badgers in the season opener and a dominating 3-0 win over the defending OUA champion Toronto Varsity Blues last weekend. The Lions are one of four teams in the OUA to remain undefeated at this point in the season and they are currently second in the OUA East behind the Queen’s Gaels, who have won three games so far this year. At least one undefeated team will be taken down this weekend when the Lions take on the 1-0 Ottawa Gee-Gees on Sunday afternoon. The two teams split their season series last year, with the home team winning each time; the Lions 3-0 and the Gee-Gees 3-2.
Men’s and Women’s Water Polo
This Week: Host Toronto (Thursday, Nov. 4, 7:20pm –
women, 8:40pm – men) and McMaster (Saturday, Nov. 6, 11:15am
– men, 12:45pm – women)
The water polo teams will compete at the Tait McKenzie Centre for the last time this season as they build momentum for the OUA championships, which will take place the last weekend of November in Kingston. The two teams have already played a number of games so far this season, including in a tournament in Etobicoke last weekend, and will be looking for strong performances in front of the hometown crowd this week. Last year, the men’s team finished fourth at the OUA championships and the women were fifth in the OUA standings and missed out on the post-season.
ON THE ROAD
Men’s Volleyball
2010-11 Record: 0-3
Last Week: Lost to Toronto 3-2
This Week: At Windsor (Friday, Nov. 5, 8pm) and Western (Saturday,
Nov. 6, 7pm)
Last Meeting: York lost to Windsor 3-2 and Western 3-0
The men’s volleyball team is still looking for its first victory of the season but has shown plenty of positive signs through three games. Two of the three matches have gone the distance (the Lions lost to Laurier 3-2 in the season opener and Toronto 3-2 last weekend) and in the third the Lions won a set en route to a 3-1 loss to the Waterloo Warriors. The young Lions have struggled mostly with closing out opponents; in the loss to the Varsity Blues the Lions held a 2-1 advantage and were up in the final set before taking the loss. Felipe Humana-Paredes has been solid for the team while rookie setter Paul Jakubiak and outside hitter Ray Szeto continue to adjust to the speed of the game at this level. The Lions remain on the road this weekend for games against the Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs. In four matches against those two opponents last year the Lions stayed close and played three five-setters but were ultimately defeated in all of them.
