The York University Lions men's soccer team was eliminated from medal contention at the U Sports championships with a 2-0 loss to the Alberta Golden Bears in their quarter-final match at Alumni Stadium in Guelph, Ont., on Thursday.
 
The Lions had several scoring chances throughout the match but could not capitalize when they got the ball in close, and on the other end of the pitch the Bears converted two free kicks into goals to claim the victory.
 
The best early chance for either team came in the 23^rd minute, when the Bears got the ball into the box and York goalkeeper Daniel Gosciniak (Mississauga, Ont.) made a save on Bruno Zebie. The ball rattled around in front of the net but stayed out and was eventually cleared.
 
In the 38^th minute, OUA rookie of the year Cristian Cavallini (Woodbridge, Ont.) fired a big shot on net but Alberta goalkeeper Connor James was there to make the save. That would prove to be York's best chance of the opening half, and the Lions also had four other shots towards the goal that went just wide.
 
The game went into halftime still scoreless.
 
Just three minutes into the second half, the Lions found themselves in glorious position to break the deadlock. Rookie forward Milan Beader (Oakville, Ont.), who had subbed into the game at the half, got the ball and tapped it towards the net but James was there to make the save.
 
In the 54^th minute, the Golden Bears were awarded a free kick to the left of Gosciniak and fifth-year defender Niko Saler stepped up and made no mistake, curling his shot into the top corner of the net, out of Gosciniak's reach for a 1-0 lead.
 
After the opening goal the Bears settled into a defensive mindset and the Lions took advantage, spending significant amounts of time in Alberta's end.
 
Cavallini again had a tremendous chance to score in the 67^th minute but James once again got a hand on it to make the save. The Lions continued to shoot the ball towards the net, but many of their chances sailed high. The Lions outshot the Bears 16-11 but could not find the back of the net.
 
Saler added to Alberta's lead in the 78^th minute on a goal that was nearly identical to the first. The Bears got another free kick to the left of Gosciniak and Saler curled the ball into the net for the insurance marker.
 
Saler was named the player of the game for the Bears, while midfielder Ryan Telfer (Mississauga, Ont.) received the honour for the Lions.
 
The Golden Bears now advance to the semifinals on Saturday and will face the winner of the second quarter-final between the Cape Breton Capers and Toronto Varsity Blues, while the Lions will face the loser on Friday at 11am in the consolation semifinal.