OFFENCE SHARP AGAIN AS LIONS CRUSH MARAUDERS
The York University Lions men’s soccer team showed off its offensive flair again with a dominant 5-0 victory over the visiting McMaster Marauders on Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 13) at York Stadium.
The Lions have now scored 41 goals in 13 games, 18 more than any other team in the OUA, to post an impressive 3.2 goals against average.
The Lions dominated the game from start to finish and did not allow the Marauders much in the way of offence. The Lions fired 12 shots on the McMaster goalkeepers while the Marauders managed just one shot at the other end of the pitch.
Third-year striker Adrian Pena (Woodbridge, Ont.) continued his torrid scoring pace with another two goals in this game. He now leads all players in the CIS with 12 goals scored in 13 games. Moreno Alberti (Winnipeg) and Selvin Lammie (Toronto) each had a goal and an assist, and Branko Majstorovic (Mississauga, Ont.) rounded out the scoring with a goal.
The Lions got their first good scoring chance in the 15th minute when Pena fired a great shot on net, which was saved by McMaster goalkeeper Matthew Grant, and two minutes later they nearly got the first goal when a perfect corner kick by Alon Badat (Thornhill, Ont.) was headed toward the net by Daniel Fabrizi (Brampton, Ont.), forcing Grant to make another great save.
It didn’t take long for the Lions to score after that. In the 24th minute, Majstorovic opened the scoring with a beautiful shot from behind the defence that found its way through traffic and into the back of the net. He nearly got his second of the game six minutes later but his shot sailed just wide.
In the 43rd minute, and after another near miss, Pena finally got his first of the game with an assist to Badat to make the game 2-0, a lead the Lions took into halftime.
Pena recorded his second tally of the game in the 57th minute thanks to a terrific set-up by Lammie. Lammie continued his solid play minutes later with another great move in front of the net, this time putting home his own shot for his first goal of the season.
After allowing four goals, Grant was replaced by A.J. Denomy for the final eight minutes of the game. D’Mello got one past him in the dying seconds for the team’s fifth goal of the game.
The Marauders had two good chances in the contest. The first came early in the game, when Lions keeper Sotiri Varlokostas (Toronto) tapped the ball above the crossbar to prevent a goal. The second came late in the game but the shot ricocheted off the crossbar.
Varlokostas earned his ninth shutout of the season in net while making just one save.
With the win, the Lions improve to 10-2-1 and inch closer to top spot in the OUA West. They now have 31 points and are just two back of the leading Western Mustangs with three games left for both teams. The Lions are also nine points ahead of third-place Laurier and have secured a first-round bye in the playoffs. The Marauders (6-5-2) remain in fourth place with 20 points.
Next up for the Lions is the most important game of the regular season; a date with Western on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 17) that will likely determine who gets top spot in the OUA West. A win for the Lions will move them ahead of the Mustangs with two games remaining.
Photo credit: Alex Pylyshyn
