The No. 2 nationally ranked York University Lions men's soccer team is back in familiar territory as one of the last four teams still in action in the OUA. The Lions will host the Rams on Saturday evening in a conference semifinal contest, with the winner advancing to the OUA championship final.
 
Kick-off is set for 6pm at York Lions Stadium.
 
If the No. 2 seeded Lions want to get there, they will have to go through a formidable opponent in the No. 3 seeded Rams, who had the same 8-1-1 record that York did in the regular season. The OUA Central champions had no trouble dispatching the Waterloo Warriors, beating them 4-0 in their quarterfinal. The Lions reached the semis with a 1-0 win over the rival Toronto Varsity Blues.
 
However, the Rams will have to work against history if they wish to beat a Carmine Isacco led York team. Since Isacco joined the program in 2007, York is 4-0 against the Rams in playoff games.
 
It's been a decade of dominance in the conference for the Lions, hitting the podium in nine straight years and winning five of the last seven OUA banners. They have finished atop the OUA West Division 14 years in a row — every year of Isacco's tenure.
 
York enters the game thanks to Omar Marzouk's goal in the team's quarterfinal win over the Blues. Marzouk was one of the most prolific scorers in York's 2021 season, finishing second on the team in scoring with eight goals and 11 points. Dieu Merci Yuma is the team's leader in points, tying for first in the OUA scoring race with 12 goals and getting more points than any other player, amassing 17.
 
In the 4-0 Rams win over Waterloo, Christian Westlaken led the offence for his side. He had two goals, while Mohamad Abdallah had two assists.
 
This is the first meeting between the two teams this year — York spent their regular season in the OUA East, while the Rams were part of the OUA Central.
 
In addition to a spot in the OUA final on the line, the two squads will also be looking to keep their national tournament hopes alive. The winner of this game may be on their way to the U SPORTS national championship, pending the result of the other semi featuring the Carleton Ravens and the Guelph Gryphons. Carleton already owns one of the two OUA berths in the national tournament as the host. If the Ravens beat Guelph Saturday afternoon, the winner of this semi will join them regardless of the OUA final's result. However, if Guelph wins, then only one of the two finalists will move on to the Carleton-hosted event.