The York University Lions women's soccer team fell to the Acadia Axewomen 2-1 in their U SPORTS championship quarter-final matchup in Victoria.
 
The Lions entered the tournament as the top seed facing off against the AUS silver medalist Axewomen in the opening match of the national championship.
 
Kendra Saxton got the scoring going early for the Lions after she tapped in a beautiful through pass from midfielder Vanessa Salvaggio that cut through the defence in the 9th minute. Despite the lead, the first half remained tense with the Axewomen refusing to go away, but the Lions headed into halftime up 1-0.
 
Three minutes into the second, the Axewomen caught the Lions with a long range shot that looked to be headed out of bounds but fell into the bottom right corner, knotting the game at a goal apiece.
 
The unlikely goal didn't deter the Lions as they regrouped and had a pair of close scoring chances produced by Jotam Chouhan. Her first opportunity came off a corner kick in the 66th minute, that fell to her feet and was ultimately blocked by the Axewomen defence. Three minutes later, Chouhan fired a long range effort that was tipped just over the cross bar by Acadia keeper Sarah Karnock to keep the game tied at 1-1.
 
In the 71st minute Acadia forward Jayden Boudreau intercepted a pass intended for Lions keeper Danitza Indacochea in front of net, ultimately putting her side up 2-1. The Lions made three subs with Stephanie Lamanna coming on to interject some pace, while Salvaggio and Saxton returned for some added offensive pressure, but it would not be enough to get the Lions back into the game.
 
Lions captain and leading scorer Kiyani Johnson was named player of the game, as well as Acadia defender Lauren Jodrey.
 
"We're going to work hard in the next couple of games that we have left, and put it all out there", said Johnson. "We're going to prove that we're meant to be here, and that we're still an excellent team".
 
The Lions will now play in the consolation bracket with their next game setup for Friday at 1:30pm PT/ 4:30pm ET. Their opponent will be decided in the second quarter-final between the UBC Thunderbirds and Montreal Carabins.