The York University Lions men's soccer team suffered a 1-0 upset loss to the host Thompson Rivers WolfPack in their U SPORTS quarter-final match on Thursday evening at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops, B.C.
 
Despite being favoured in the match against the Canada West bronze medallists, the Lions struggled to generate many scoring chances throughout the match.
 
The first half was a fairly timid affair in which the two teams were clearly feeling each other out. The Lions had three corner kicks and the WolfPack two, but none of the set pieces led to much and the two teams headed into the halftime break scoreless, with neither goalkeeper recording a save.
 
Action picked up considerably in the second half as the WolfPack began pressing. In the 59^th minute, Thompson Rivers was awarded a free kick at the far side of the field. Canada West MVP Mitchell Popadynetz took the kick and sent a good ball into the box that was eventually headed into the back of the net by Josh Banton to make the score 1-0.
 
Eight minutes later, the Lions were dealt another blow when defender Francesco Sinopoli was handed a red card and the Lions went down to 10 men.
 
The card seemed to rejuvenate the visitors, however, as they played their best 15 minutes of the match immediately after that. In one three-minute stretch the Lions had four straight corner kick opportunities and had a flurry of chances as a result, but the ball never threatened the goal line and the WolfPack remained in the lead.
 
After that, the Thompson Rivers defence settled in and was able to keep the ball away from the front of the net. The Lions finished the game with three more corner kick opportunities just seconds before the final whistle, but again they could not seriously challenge for a goal and the game ended in favour of the home squad.
 
Goalkeeper Quillan Roberts faced four shots on goal and made three saves, while Josh Kiselyov led the Lions with two shots. The best scoring chance came courtesy of Eddie Lay, whose shot sailed just over the crossbar in the 73^rd minute.
 
The Lions will now face the loser of the match between the Cape Breton Capers and UQAM Citadins in the second consolation semifinal on Friday afternoon at 1:30pm, while the WolfPack have advanced to the U SPORTS semis and will face the winner of that same match.