The best of the best. 

Thanks to a dynamite second season in red and white that culminated in the York University Lions men's soccer team's first national medal in nearly a decade, midfielder Christian Zeppieri took home the Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy as U SPORTS men's soccer player of the year. 

Zeppieri, an accounting manager from nearby Maple, Ont., finished tied for third in the country in goals with nine and second in assists with eight, while finishing tied for tops in the nation in points with 17. 

Clearly, there was no sophomore jinx second-year midfielder. He was remarkably consistent for the Lions in 2024, scoring in eight different matches during the regular season. 

Zeppieri becomes the first Lion since Jonathan Lao in 2016 to garner the player of the year award, and the third all time, along with Lao and Francesco Bruno (2008). In addition to the player of the year award, Zeppieri was named a U SPORTS first team all-star. 

Zeppieri's strong play didn't stop with the end of the regular season. After scoring goals in each of the Lions wins at the U SPORTS championship in Oshawa, he earned a U SPORTS championship all-star nod. He is the 21st different Lion to make a national championship all-star team, and the first since Ryan Telfer in 2016. 

Zeppieri wasn't the only Lion to win a major national award, however. 

Luca Accettola, a rookie midfielder from Vaughan, Ont., was named the 2024 U SPORTS rookie of the year after winning the OUA West rookie of the year and being selected as the OUA nominee for the national award. Accettola had a terrific rookie season, scoring six times in his opening U SPORTS campaign. He bookended the season strong, scoring in his OUA debut, giving the Lions some insurance in a 2-0 win over McMaster. After a mid-season slump, the kinesiology & health science major scored goals in four of York's final six regular season games, including his first career multi-goal game in a 5-0 win over Windsor on Sept. 27. 

The former Toronto FC II star is the fourth Lion in program history to win the U SPORTS rookie of the year award, and the first since future U SPORTS player of the year Jonathan Lao in 2013. Along with Lao, Accettola joins Moreno Alberti in 2007 and Jamaal Smith in 2006 as the other Lions to be selected the country's best rookie.