A rematch of last year's OUA championship game comes to campus on Wednesday evening as the No. 6 nationally-ranked York University Lions men's soccer team and the No. 3 Guelph Gryphons will battle in their first of two regular-season contests at Alumni Field.
 
The Match-up: No. 6 York (1-1-0) vs. No. 3 Guelph (1-0-1) and Laurier (0-2-0)
 
Game Details
Guelph – Wednesday, Aug. 30 @ 8:15pm, OUA.tv
Laurier – Sunday, Sept. 3 @ 3:15pm, OUA.tv
 
Home/Away Records
York – 0-0-0 at home
Guelph – 1-0-0 on the road
Laurier – 0-0-0 on the road
 
Current Streak
York – Won 1
Guelph – Tied 1
Laurier – Lost 2
 
Last Meetings
The last time the Lions and Gryphons were on the pitch together they were battling for an OUA title. After the Lions scored first, the Gryphons came back with three unanswered goals to win 3-1 and prevent the Lions from claiming their fourth straight conference title. The two squads also played exciting games in the regular season, with the Lions winning the first 2-1 on a 90^th minute goal and then the second 4-2 at home.
 
The Lions swept the season series last year, winning 3-1 and 3-2, and have not lost to the Golden Hawks in the regular season since early in 2006. Laurier's last victory over York came in the OUA final in 2008 and they've also earned five draws in the last 11 seasons.
 
QUICK FACTS
 
York

• The Lions started the season with a 1-0 loss to Western but bounced back the next day with a 2-0 victory over Windsor, a contest in which they outshot the Lancers 24-0 and forced their goalie to make 15 saves.
• Friday's loss to the Mustangs was their first in the regular season since falling to the Lancers on Sept. 26, 2015. They have not lost twice in the regular season since 2013.
• The Lions are ranked No. 6 in the first national poll of the 2017 season and have now been ranked in 59 straight polls dating back to Week 6 in 2010.

 
Guelph

• The Gryphons started the regular season with a win and a draw last weekend. They defeated Windsor 4-3 on the road in the opener and then returned home and played to a scoreless draw with the McMaster Marauders.
• The Gryphons debuted at No. 3 in the first national ranking this season. Last year they were in the rankings for six weeks, peaking at a high of No. 4.
• Guelph's OUA title last season was their first since 1990. They went on to win the U SPORTS bronze medal on home turf one week later.

 
Laurier

• The Golden Hawks had a tough start to their 2017 campaign, falling in both contests by one goal. They opened with a 2-1 loss to Brock in St. Catharines, Ont., and then headed to Hamilton, Ont., to face McMaster and fell 1-0.
• The Golden Hawks finished in fourth place in the OUA West standings last year and earned a home playoff game in the first round but were upset by the fifth-seeded Mustangs by a 2-0 score.

 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
 
York
 
F Milan Beader – The sophomore forward tied for the OUA lead in playoff scoring last year with four goals in three games. He has scored both of York's goals so far this season in their win over Windsor.
 
M Jonathan Lao – The reigning U SPORTS player of the year and OUA male athlete of the year is back for his fifth and final season with the Lions. The four-time OUA all-star and U SPORTS all-Canadian scored four goals and added three assists last year.
 
Guelph
 
F Jace Kotsopoulos – An OUA second-team all-star last year, he is the early OUA scoring leader with four goals in two games. He netted a hat trick against Windsor and scored another against Western on opening weekend.
 
M Youssef Zaghloul – Ranked fifth in team scoring last year with four goals and one assist. He scored two game-winning goals, the second-highest total on the Gryphons.
 
Laurier
 
F Antonio Hecimovic – Scored Laurier's lone goal so far this season against Brock. Last year he played in 12 games and had one goal and one assist.
 
F Nikola Miokovic – Ranked second in team scoring last year with seven goals and four assists. He had two game winners against Waterloo and Brock.