The No. 5 nationally-ranked York University Lions women's soccer team earned a 2-0 victory over the No. 9 Laurier Golden Hawks in its home opener on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 3) at Alumni Field.
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Prior to last year, the Lions had not defeated the Golden Hawks since 2009 but they are now riding a three-game winning streak over their division rivals. The Lions are still undefeated on the year at 3-0-0 while the Golden Hawks fell to 0-1-2 with the loss.
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Third-year forward
Christina Morelli (Markham, Ont.) opened the scoring in the 18
th minute, finding the back of the net after a beautiful cross into the box from rookie forward
Sia Papadopoulos (Maple, Ont.).
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Nour Ghoneim (Aurora, Ont.), the reigning CIS player of the year, had two early chances that she couldn't convert but finally capitalized in the 64
th minute, finishing off a great pass from
Dina Ricco (Bolton, Ont.) for a 2-0 lead.
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That was all the Lions would need, as goalkeeper
Taylor Grant (Brampton, Ont.) stood tall and made five saves for the clean sheet.
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Laurier goalkeeper Ashley Almeida faced 10 shots on goal and made eight saves.
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The Lions will be back in action on Wednesday (Sept. 7) when they travel to Hamilton, Ont., to face the McMaster Marauders at Ron Joyce Stadium. Kick-off is set for 6pm.
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