LIONS EARN DRAW WITH GOLDEN HAWKS

The York Lions men and women’s soccer teams were both in action on Sunday (Sept. 26) against the Laurier Golden Hawks. The women were defeated by a score of 2-1 while the men drew an even 0-0 against the home team.

The men’s game showcased exceptional defence by both teams, in particular sharp goaltending prowess by the likes of the Lions Luigi Caruso (Toronto), who stopped three shots and Jarrett Humphreys (Waterloo, Ont.), who snagged four saves total for the Golden Hawks.

Both men were tested often by their opposing teams with several scoring chances coming from players on both teams. Ilya Orlov (Woodbridge, Ont.) and Dominic Antonini (Winnipeg) each recorded two shots for the Lions, while Ben Clifford and Sandro Stojakovic accomplished the same feat for the Golden Hawks.

The women’s game proved to be a déjà vu of sorts for the Lions as they were defeated by the Golden Hawks in yet another close game that came down to the final minutes.

After a scoreless first half, Lions first-year forward Sonia Sampogna (Toronto) found the back of the net in the 75^th minute, firing a shot past Golden Hawks goaltender Katrina Ward to open the scoring.

The advantage for the Lions was nullified eight minutes later when the Golden Hawks’ Julia Marchese broke her team’s scoring drought. As was a similar case in last week’s match between these two teams, the game remained tied until the final moments when a shot by Laurier’s Krista Cellucci slipped past Lions goalkeeper Sarah Fiorini (Newmarket, Ont.) to seal the victory.

The York Lions men and women’s soccer teams will be looking to achieve more favourable outcomes as they square off against the Brock Badgers in doubleheader action on Wednesday, Sept. 29 beginning with the women’s match at 1pm, followed by the men’s game at 3:15pm. Both games will take place at York Stadium.

By Jon Careless, sport writing assistant