The No. 5 nationally ranked York University Lions women's soccer team lost its final regular-season game to the No. 8 Western Mustangs in a battle for first place in the OUA West standings, 1-0 on Sunday (Oct. 19) at York Stadium.
 
With the loss, the Lions finish the regular season in third place in the division, one point behind the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Mustangs clinched top spot by just a single point. Both Western and Laurier earned first-round byes, while the Lions will have to play a first-round match.
 
The first half ended scoreless despite many opportunities from both sides.
 
The best chance for the Lions was a one-touch shot from Christina Morelli (Markham, Ont.) in the 20^th minute that landed in the hands of the Western keeper Tori Edgar. The best chance for the Mustangs was an offside shot by Amanda Boyle that skimmed the far right post in the 45^th minute.
 
Only four minutes into the second half, Western's Tianna Deluzio scored her fourth goal of the season with an impressive 30-yard shot that bounced off the inside of the crossbar, behind Courtney Davis (Cambridge, Ont.), and passed the goal line.
 
In the last 90 minutes of play York was given one last chance to tie the game as they were awarded a corner kick. Lewis took the corner and sent the ball to the far left corner to Nour Ghoneim (Aurora, Ont.) that skimmed the goal post.
 
The Mustangs dominated possession throughout the game with their quick passes and players that pounced on the York turnovers. The Mustangs had a total of nine corner kicks and four shots on net.
 
The Lions had over 20 through balls, majority of them to the wingers Aisha Lewis (Mississauga, Ont.) and Morelli, but were too far away for the wingers and landed straight in Edgar's hands.
 
Defensively, Tomika McIntosh (Bradford, Ont.) played a great game as she matched OUA leading scorer Amanda Boyle's speed through her accurate slide tackles and constant hustle to protect the Lions' net.
 
Up next for the Lions is a home playoff game on Wednesday (Oct. 22) against the sixth-place McMaster Marauders at York Stadium. The winner will advance to an OUA quarter-final game against the Golden Hawks on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 26).