The York University Lions soccer teams earned a pair of road wins last Friday over the Guelph Gryphons, while the York tennis teams went 3-1 last weekend, including a sweep of the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton on Saturday (W: 6-1; M: 4-3).
The football and women's rugby teams are coming off losses last week to Windsor and Western, respectively. Those two teams will look to bounce back this week, while soccer also shoots to get back in the win column. The women dropped their first match of the year Monday night to the Gryphons and the men saw a two-game win streak end with a scoreless draw.
Here's what's happening in the den this week:
TENNIS
Coming off those wins over the Marauders and a split against the Ottawa Gee-Gees (W: 6-1; M: 2-5), the Lions tennis teams will host the cross-town Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday at Mayfair West. Toronto's teams both beat Ottawa (W: 7-0; M: 5-2) and Waterloo (W: 7-0; M: 6-1) last weekend, and will pose a tough test for the Lions. The Blues men's team comes in 3-1, while the women are a perfect 4-0. Matches begin at 6:30 pm. Then, on Saturday, York battles the Brock Badgers. The Brock men's team enters off wins over Waterloo (5-2) and McMaster (4-3), while the women fell 5-2 to the Warriors and 6-1 to the Marauders. Saturday's games begin at 5:30 pm.
FOOTBALL
The Lions football team has perhaps its best chance yet to earn their first victory of the season, and what better time than the Red & Blue Bowl to pull it off? The 54th annual event goes Saturday at 1:00 pm from Varsity Stadium. The Lions come in off a loss to Windsor last weekend to drop their third consecutive, while the Blues are also on a three-game slide after winning their opener, with losses to Guelph, McMaster and Carleton. The Lions are looking for their 20th Argo Cup, owning an all-time record of 19-34 in the big game.
WOMEN'S RUGBY
The women's rugby team returns home off a tough loss to Western, hosting the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday at Alumni Field. The Golden Hawks come in winless on the season, having dropped their first three games to the Toronto Varsity Blues, Western Mustangs and McMaster Marauders. York is 1-2 on the season, with their lone win a 17-10 triumph over Trent. Kickoff is at 1:00 pm.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
As mentioned, the Lions women's soccer team did something Monday night against Guelph they hadn't yet done this season: lose. They were also held off the scoresheet in that match, a 1-0 loss, which also had not happened in any of York's previous five matches. They battle the Algoma Thunderbirds for a pair of games this weekend in Sault Ste. Marie. The T-Birds are looking for their first point since 2021, a 1-1 draw with TMU, and their first win since a 4-1 victory over Windsor in 2019. Both matches begin at 1:00 pm.
MEN'S SOCCER
The York men's soccer team is also looking for a bounce-back of sorts, coming off a scoreless draw with the Gryphons. That game was the first time York had been held goalless since last October, also against the Gryphons. The Lions battle an Algoma side that has started to turn the corner, going 1-2-3 in the first half of their season. The win – a 2-0 victory over Windsor on Friday, was their first since 2019. They come in on a three-match unbeaten streak, their longest since the program begin competing in the OUA in 2014. Both matches this weekend kick off at 3:15 pm.
FIELD HOCKEY
The Lions field hockey team begins its quest to return to the OUA championship for a third consecutive season this weekend, opening their season with a pair of matches. They begin Saturday night in Waterloo against the Warriors, before hosting the Guelph Gryphons in their home opener on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field. The Lions lost a couple key veterans to graduation in Natalie Winter and Lexi Hannah, but have a strong returning core, including keeper Jade Lew, Elyse Ives and reigning OUA and York female rookie of the year Juliet Redelaar. Games this weekend begin at 7:30 and 4:30 pm, respectively.
NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
Wednesday, Sept. 18
MHKY: York at Laurier (7:00 pm)
Friday, Sept. 20
MHKY: York at Nipissing (7:00 pm)
MVB: York at Toronto (7:00 pm)
Saturday, Sept. 21
WHKY: Brock at York (7:00 pm – Canlan Ice Sports)
MVB: York at Toronto (7:00 pm)
Sunday, Sept. 22
WHKY: McGill at York (1:00 pm – Canlan Ice Sports)
