Men's Soccer | 10/17/2025 2:00:00 PM
The York University Lions men's soccer team finds itself in a familar position: on home field in the OUA quarter-final after locking down an OUA West title.
York earned its 18th straight division crown with a terrific finish to the season that saw them win their final six games and carry a 10-game unbeaten streak into Saturday's quarter-final matchup with the McMaster Marauders.
Led by a three-headed monster of Yigal Bruk, two-time defending OUA West MVP Christian Zeppieri and transfer Anthony Morano – whose nine goals pace the Lions – York has been a formidable force since a rather pedestrian 2-1-1 start to 2025. They have fired on all cylinders over the last eight games, winning seven of those eight and scoring at least two goals in all but one of them.
They now get set to take on a McMaster team coming off a (mild) upset of the Guelph Gryphons in the 4 vs. 5 matchup in Round 1. That one, a 1-0 Marauder win, saw Amir Shirazi break a scoreless stalemate and net the eventual winner in the 86th minute for the only goal of the game, sending the Marauders back to the quarters.
The win will serve as a boost for the maroon and white, who came into the playoffs having dropped two of their final three regular season contests after having a great stretch in the middle of the season after playing the Lions in their opening two games of the season. York took the opener of the home-and-home set by a 3-0 score on Sept. 5 in Hamilton, before the teams played to a 1-1 tie back at York Lions Stadium on Sept. 7.
As far as postseason play is concerned, this game will be the first playoff meeting between the Lions and Marauders in six years, dating back to the 2019 OUA quarterfinal, which the Lions won going away, 4-1. Prior to that, the teams last met in the 2014 postseason, twice, both in the biggest games of the season – the OUA championship and the U SPORTS (then CIS) gold medal game. The Lions came out on top in both of those as well, taking the OUA banner by a score of 2-0 and one-upping by winning it all in PEI by a 1-0 count – thanks to a 31st minute marker from Joey Cicchillo, cousin of current Lions Justin Cicchillo – to win the first of back-to-back national titles.
While there isn't a championship on the line in this game, the Lions will be looking to extend a four-match playoff winning streak over the Marauders and advance to the OUA semis for the 14th time in the last 15 years, and move themselves one step closer to a trip down Line 1 to the U SPORTS championships at Varsity Stadium.
Kickoff from York Lions Stadium is set for 7:00 pm on Saturday night. You can get your tickets here or stream the match live, free of charge on OUA TV.
