The York University Lions women's soccer team fought to the finish as they played the Western Mustangs during the quarterfinals of the OUA playoffs on Sunday, Oct. 29 at Alumni Field. The Mustangs eliminated the Lions from the playoffs with a 3-2 victory, after the Lions recovered from a two-nil deficit.
 
Western got off to an early scoring start as Kiera Grein, the Mustangs midfielder scored the first goal of the game and her first goal of the season in the third minute of the game. The Mustangs struck again 26 minutes later, when Katrina Giantsopoulos scored against the Lions, furthering Western's lead in the pivotal single elimination playoff round.
 
The Lions pulled together both on the offensive and defensive ends to close the gap Western opened up early in the game. At the 34^th minute, York's Kiyani Johnson, scored the first goal for the Lions with an assist by Jessica Lush, York's defenseman who contributed two goals for the Lions in the regular season.
 
The Lions continued to apply pressure against the Mustangs during the remaining minutes of the half. Jotam Chouhan had a scoring attempt against the Mustangs, however, her attempt was saved by Western goalkeeper, Megan Girardi. York's Christina Morelli, who played her final game as a Lion, also fired a shot against the Mustangs, however, her attempt went to the left of the net.
 
York goalkeeper, Tamara Orlando made a nice save on a Western scoring attempt to keep the game 2-1 going into half-time. Orlando, who is in her final year as a Lion, was one of the top goaltenders in the OUA in the regular season with a total of six shutouts and nine wins.
 
In the second half of the game, it was again Johnson who put the pressure on the Mustangs, making a run past two Western defensive players and scoring a second goal for the Lions with the help of defenseman Teni Odetoyinbo who notched an assist.

With over forty-minutes remaining, the Lions had a renewed vigor and pressure on both sides as they were tied for the first time since the first four minutes of the game. Four minutes following Johnson's goal though, Western's Anna Larkin scored a third and final goal for the Mustangs, giving them a 3-2 lead against the Lions.
 
The remainder of the game saw many tries from the Lions who attempted to level-out the score in a final attempt to get into the next round of the playoffs. In the second half, the Lions were able to fire seven shots against the Mustangs who were only able to fire one shot on the Lions' net.
 
In the 90^th minute of the game, York's Stephanie Lamanna, who has scored three goals this season, had the crowd on its toes ready to roar but Girardi made a last minute save to preserve the victory.
 
Although they will not be advancing in the next round of the OUA playoffs, the Lions had a solid season with a record 10-4-2 as they finished in second-place in the OUA West division.