LIONS OFFENCE STIFLED BY STINGY BADGERS
It was a disappointing opening day for the York Lions men's and women's soccer teams at the York Stadium. Both squads dropped their season opener to the Brock Badgers by matching scores of 1-0.
The men, in their first game of the regular season since winning the CIS national championship last year, could not get their vaunted offence in gear. Despite fielding a lineup identical to last year's championship run, the Lions could not put the ball behind rock-solid Brock goalkeeper Judon Gregory (Mississauga, Ont.), even as they outshot the Badgers 17-5.
The field seemed tilted toward the Badger end the entire game, as York displayed a patient passing game and a relentless attack. Adrian Pena (Woodbridge, Ont.) led the Lions with six shots on goal but could not convert.
Brock's lone goal came in the 69th minute off a miscommunication between the defender and goalkeeper Sotiri Varlokostas (Toronto). An errant pass to Varlokostas struck him in the chest and bounced out to Brock's George Chondronikolas (Mississauga, Ont.), who raced past the goalkeeper and put the ball in the net.
It was a foul-filled affair, with five yellow cards issued: two to York and three to Brock. The last yellow card of the game came close to the 90th minute, when a Brock defender tripped up York's Francesco Bruno (Toronto) as he dashed toward the goal for the equalizer. The resulting free kick struck Brock's defensive wall, and the Lions threw their arms up in frustration.
The women fared no better. Despite a steady offensive attack in the first half, the Lions were unable to penetrate close enough to the Badger goal to get good scoring chances.
York goalkeeper Sarah Fiorini (Newmarket, Ont.) had little to do in the early going, as the Lions stifled an weak Brock attack.
Ami Otaki (Kanagawa, Japan) was York's biggest threat on the offensive, showing speed and skill as she consistently outran the Brock defenders and drew fouls as a result. But her best opportunities - a pair of free kicks - both sailed harmlessly over the net.
The Lions came out strong in the second half, but a number of near misses kept them off the scoreboard.
The Brock women shattered York's momentum in the 69th minute when Alexandra Esposito (Mississauga, Ont.) seized the ball off a deflection and fired it between two York defenders and into the top corner of the net.
The Lions were back on their heels after carrying the pace of the game for the first half. The goal seemed to ignite the Badger attack, but Fiorini stood solid in net and kept the score at 1-0.
Lions defenders Camille Pereira (Mississauga, Ont.) and Alicia Donaldson (Mississauga, Ont.) were stalwarts on the back end, breaking up dangerous Brock rushes and keeping the pressure in Brock's half.
Nicole Markowitz (Toronto) had the Lions' best chance to even things up late in the game, but was denied in close by the Brock goalkeeper.
Both the men and women now fall to 0-1-0 on the season.
The Lions will host the McMaster Marauders tomorrow (Sept. 13). The women's game is set for 1pm, with the Men scheduled to go at 3:15pm.
By Josh Elliott, sport information assistant
