On a chilly fall day in the nation's capital, the York University Lions men's soccer team found itself back in a position with which they've become fondly familiar: the OUA championship.
After failing to reach the conference's crown jewel for the first time in nine years in 2022, the Lions were right back where they belonged against a familiar foe in the Carleton Ravens. The last time these two teams squared off on this stage, it was the Ravens who earned a convincing 3-0 win on the Lions home turf in 2019. On this day, the Lions had their eyes on payback on Carleton's home pitch.
That task was made substantially more difficult with the absence of recently-minted MVP Christian Zeppieri, who was suspended for this game after removing his shirt in celebration of his go-ahead goal in Wednesday's semi-final victory over Ontario Tech. The Lions were also without head coach Carmine Isacco, who was handed a red card in Wednesday's win after arguing the equalizer.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Much of the Lions attack, unsurprisingly, revolved around OUA first-team all-star Tyler Attardo, who was sure to figure even more prominently in the offence without Zeppieri. The Lions sent several long balls his direction early and, eventually, hit paydirt.
- Working up the right side, a brilliant ball was played into Attardo and, after splitting two defenders while narrowly staying onside, he put one past Ravens keeper Tyler David to give the Lions the 19th-minute lead
- Carleton began to increase pressure as the first half progressed, and were able to draw level before the break. In the 32nd minute, Luca Piccioli took a free-kick from 35 yards out and somehow found room inside the near post and below the bar to knot the match 1-1 heading into halftime.
- In the second 45, the Ravens continued to own the territorial edge. They took the lead on a set piece in the 68th minute. A corner kick from Piccioli landed on the foot of Omar Darwish on the far side, and he beat Lions keeper Alessio Carbone to put Carleton up 2-1.
- They were able to lock things down from there, and sealed it on Piccioli's second of the day after he was left open in the middle of the box. That wrapped up a 3-1 Carleton win and secured a silver medal for the Lions, their third in the last four seasons.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will now shift focus to Sydney, N.S. and the U SPORTS championships. The Lions opener will be on Thursday against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. Check yorkulions.ca in the days leading up to the championships for updates.
