After the York University Lions men's soccer team locked up its 18th straight division crown last weekend, they hosted the McMaster Marauders, who were coming off a 1-0 first-round win over Guelph, in an quarter final clash Saturday night at York Lions Stadium. With their eyes on a return to the U SPORTS Championships down at Varsity Stadium, the Lions felt very comfortable on their home turf, ready to take care of their first challenge of the playoffs.
York got on the board almost immediately, as a volleyed pass from Gianluca Condello just past midfield ended up on the foot of a wide-open Yigal Bruk in the middle of the pitch. With no defender near him, he fired a shot into the bottom left corner of the net to make it 1-0 Lions in just the third minute, as the Lions got exactly the start they wanted. McMaster then made a dreadful mistake as a defensive pass back in their own zone bounced and slipped through the hands of keeper Martin Enright in net, allowing Bruk to storm past him and tap in an easy goal to make it a 2-0 match in the 32nd minute as Bruk, who scored just once all regular season, doubled that in just the first half.
The Marauders got one right back, though, as finally one of their pushes forced the Lions defense to collapse. Outnumbering them in the box, captain Amir Shirazi was able to break away from the swarm and fire a close-range shot past Lions keeper Michael Williams make it a 2-1 game in the 39th minute to kill a bit of Lions momentum. That remained the score after the first 45 minutes.
York's back line started the second a little shaky, allowing a couple of quick shots from McMaster, but held up to give the offence some chances. Williams made a great save for his team early off a dangerous McMaster free kick, deflecting a ball soaring towards goal just over the bar. The Marauders continued to pour on much heavier pressure than they did in the first though, and started to dominate possession. However, a golden opportunity was awarded, as York was awarded a penalty kick after a foul in the box. Christian Zeppieri, the Lions go-to penalty taker, found a seam in the bottom left corner past the diving Enright, putting them back up by two, 3-1 in the 75th minute. However, McMaster wasn't done yet, as Williams, the Lions keeper, was given a straight red card after a hard collision with Shirazi in the 79th, forcing the Lions to play a man down for the final fifteen minutes, and with backup keeper Dante Carraro in net.
After McMaster drew a corner minutes later, the incoming kick was tipped by Cristian Alfieri, getting past a swarm of players in the box and just squeezed into the left corner of the net past Carraro. Clinging to a 3-2 lead in extra time, York was able to stand tall and ward off any further McMaster advances to close out a wild finish Saturday night, and move on to the OUA semi-finals for a third straight year and the 14th time in the last 15 years.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will host the OUA semi finals back at home against the Carleton Ravens, who earned a 1-0 win over the TMU Bold in extra time on a goal in the 117th minute. The match is scheduled for Saturday, October 25th, with game time still to be determined. You can get your tickets here or stream the game live on OUA TV.
