The final leg of the fall season is upon us for the York University Lions. Though the men’s soccer team couldn’t close out an OUA championship on home turf, another new season begins as they begin their pursuit of a national championship just down the 401 at Ontario Tech, site of the 2024 U SPORTS men’s soccer championship.
York’s field hockey team saw its season come to an end last weekend as they took home the silver medal in the inaugural Field Hockey Canada U SPORTS Invitational championship. They earned a pair of wins over the UPEI Panthers and Waterloo Warriors – 5-0 and 2-0, respectively – to clinch a spot in Sunday’s gold medal game. Saturday’s round-robin finale against Victoria, a 3-0 loss, was but a precursor to the real thing, as the Vikes had also clinched a berth in the final after winning their first two games. Sunday’s championship match was much tighter, but the Vikes scored the game’s lone goal off a penalty stroke and earned a 1-0 victory, forcing the Lions to settle for silver on home turf.
The Lions basketball teams return to the hardwood this weekend with a pair of games in the nation’s capital against two of the premier programs not only in the province but the nation. The women’s team is eyeing its first 3-0 start since their most recent OUA championship season of 2005-06 and their first 4-0 start since their other OUA banner year, 1981-82. The men’s team, meanwhile, is in search of its first win of the year after losses to Laurier and Ontario Tech on opening weekend.
The Lions men’s volleyball team looks to continue its hot start to the season after starting 4-0 for the first time since their last OUA title-winning season of 2004-05. They downed the Waterloo Warriors twice last weekend, both in four sets. The women’s team looks to rebound after a pair of losses to Waterloo, the first in three sets Friday night and the second in four on Saturday.
The women’s hockey team returns home after a split in the nation’s capital last weekend. They earned a come-from-behind 2-1 overtime win at Carleton on Friday before falling to the Ottawa Gee-Gees by a 3-0 count. The men’s team also earned a split last weekend with a 2-1 overtime win of their own on Saturday night at Ontario Tech after falling to the Ridgebacks 4-2 on home ice on Friday.
Finally, the Lions wrestling team began the season on a high thanks to Stephan Niron, the new York male athlete of the week, who won bronze medal in the 57kg division at the season-opening McMaster Open on Sunday in Hamilton.
Here’s what’s going on in the den this week:
PLAYOFF GAMES
MEN’S SOCCER
The Lions are the sixth seed in the U SPORTS men’s soccer championship, and will play the AUS-champion St. FX X-Men in the opening round. This is the second straight year the two sides will meet in the national tournament. Last year, York downed St. FX by a 3-1 scoreline to capture the consolation final and finish fifth. The Lions will look for a better result in the quarters this year after taking the top-seeded Mount Royal Cougars to the brink of extra time before an 89th-minute goal dashed their hopes of a title. The Lions will kick off the tournament at 11:00 am on Thursday from Vaso’s Field in Oshawa. Stay tuned to yorkulions.ca for updates on results and additional opponent and game-time information following Thursday’s match. You can stream the game on CBC Gem by clicking here.
REGULAR SEASON GAMES
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The women’s volleyball team aims to get back on the winning track after opening their home schedule with a pair of losses last weekend to the Waterloo Warriors. Now at 2-2, York will face a Western Mustangs team which has not lost yet after opening their season with two wins over the Guelph Gryphons, including a five-set marathon in their season opener on Friday. Julia Typa will look to keep her stellar start to the season alive; the third-year outside hitter leads York in kills with 46, good enough for third in the OUA. Friday’s match begins at 6:00 pm from Tait McKenzie Centre while the rematch goes Saturday at 4:00 pm. You can get your tickets for both matches here or stream them live or on-demand on OUA TV.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
After getting off to their best start in two decades, the Lions men’s volleyball team prepares for its toughest test yet against a Western team which, in a strangle scheduling quirk, has not yet played through the first two weeks of the season, receiving both their weeks off to start the season. However, going back to last season, the Mustangs finished 13-7 before losing to the Brock Badgers in the opening round of the OUA playoffs. This is a true measuring stick weekend for the Lions, and they will aim for at least a split in their first two games against a 2023-24 postseason team. Friday’s first serve is at 8:00 pm, with Saturday’s match starting at 6:00 pm. You can get your tickets here or stream the matches live or on-demand on OUA TV.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
The Lions women’s hockey team gets set for a pair of big divisional games this weekend against the Windsor Lancers on Friday night and the Western Mustangs on Saturday evening. The Lancers come in leading the OUA West, but the top four teams (WSR, WLU, GUE, WAT) are all separated by a single point, including a three-way tie at 15 points between Laurier, Guelph and Waterloo. The Lions will look to make a statement against the Lancers as they aim to fight back into the playoff race. While it remains incredibly early, the Lions are seven points out of a playoff spot in a divison where the top four teams might be the best four in the league. The good news for York is they have a game in hand the four teams directly ahead of them and two games in hand on the division-leading Lancers. Both games this weekend go at 7:00 pm from Canlan Ice Sports. You can get tickets here or stream the games live on OUA TV.
MEN’S HOCKEY
The men’s hockey team’s lone game of the weekend sees them to to Trois-Rivieres to take on the UQTR Patriotes in the first of two meetings this season. York comes into the game 7th in the OUA West, having won two of their last three games. Aside from the Oct. 13 game against the Ottawa Gee-Gees, all the Lions games have been one-goal games in the third period. The Lions are hoping to put a team like the Patriotes on notice that they intend to compete and win every game they’re in, and a win Saturday against a team playing the second game of a back-to-back will go a long way toward doing just that. Puck drop is at 4:00 pm on Saturday in a game you can stream here.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The Lions women’s basketball team returns to play after their in-season off week to face the Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens this weekend. These will be a pair of tough tests for York, as the two teams come in a combined 8-0 on the season. They also are both ranked in the U SPORTS Top 10, with Ottawa sitting at No. 2 in the nation and Carleton at No. 7. While beating two of the top teams in the country will be no easy task, the Lions will at least look to hang around early and give themselves a chance late. The Lions will be at Ottawa Saturday night at 6:00 pm and at Carleton for a rare Sunday nighter, also at 6:00 pm. You can stream the games on OUA TV.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
It’s a very similar story on the men’s side for the young Lions team in search of its first win after an 0-2 start. Both the Ottawa and Carleton men’s teams are ranked amongst the 10 best in the country, with Ottawa slotting in at No. 7 and Carleton coming in at No. 9. These are the types of games, win or lose, the Lions can use as a learning opportunity as they aim to build their program up for 2025-26 and beyond. While winning is the optimal outcome, continuing to grow and compete with the country’s best is where the Lions look to make their mark.
WRESTLING
After veteran Stephan Niron medaled in the McMaster Open last weekend, the Lions wrestling team heads downtown to TMU for the Pat Bolgar Open. The meet goes Sunday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.