The second week of competition is upon us for the York University Lions. Last week, the Lions women's soccer team drew both of its matches, 2-2 and 1-1 ties against McMaster and Laurier, respectively.
The men's team, meanwhile, earned a pair of dominant victories. First, they took down the Marauders 2-0 in the season opener, thanks to a pair of first-half goals. Then, on Sunday, the Lions throttled Laurier 5-1 thanks to three second-half tallies including two from reigning OUA West MVP Christian Zeppieri.
In other action, the football team fell to Ottawa 27-4 in a game where the score wasn't exactly indicative of the extremely high level of compete the Lions showed under first year head coach Dexter Janke in his OUA debut.
Another York coach making his debut last week was women's rugby head coach Spencer Robinson, who began piloting the program in June. The young York contingent competed early, but couldn't keep up with the Waterloo Warriors in what was a 50-10 loss for the red and white.
Here's what happening in the den this week:
WOMEN'S SOCCER:
The Lions women's soccer team looks for its first win of the season Friday night when they host Waterloo in the opener of the Welcome Back Game doubleheader and the first of a home-and-home series. Nia Fleming Thompson returned to York with a bang after a year in the NCAA, scoring a goal in each of her side's first two matches. That was good enough to earn her York female athlete of the week honours for the period ending Sept. 1. Kickoff on Friday is set for 6:00 pm from York Lions Stadium (tickets) and streaming on OUA.TV, before the teams renew hostilities Sunday at 8:15 pm in Waterloo.
MEN'S SOCCER:
The Lions men's soccer team looks to stay hot after a blazing start to the season. Like Fleming-Thompson, rookie Yigal Bruk scored in each of his first two OUA contests, netting himself York men's athlete of the week honours. Friday's game from York Lions Stadium begins at 8:15 pm (tickets) on OUA.TV, while Sunday's game from Waterloo begins at 6:00 pm.
WOMEN'S RUGBY:
The Spencer Robinson era of Lions women's rugby began with a 50-10 loss in Waterloo last Sunday. This weekend, the team opens the home portion of its schedule against the Trent Excalibur. Match time is slated for 1:00 pm on Saturday from Alumni Field
FOOTBALL:
While they didn't get the desired result, the Lions football team gave us a glimpse of what could be a positive building season for the program in their season-opening loss to Ottawa. York didn't allow a touchdown until the final minute of the third quarter, and was an incomplete pass in the end zone away from leading at halftime. This week, Janke's team heads to Kingston to meet the Queen's Gaels, who are coming off a win over McMaster, their first of the year. Kickoff from Richardson Stadium is set for Saturday at 3:00 pm on OUA.TV.
