The York University Lions men's soccer team hosted the Carleton Ravens in the OUA semi-finals on Saturday night at York Lions Stadium with a trip to the OUA championship – and perhaps the national tournament, depending on the result of the other semi-final between Toronto and Waterloo – on the line.
The last time they faced each other, the Ravens took home the OUA Championship in 2023. The Lions were looking to exact some revenge on the Ravens in this one and advance to the OUA title game for a third straight year. A win, plus a win by the Varsity Blues over the Warriors, would also clinch the Lions a spot in the U SPORTS championships at Varsity Stadium from Nov. 6-9.
The Lions entered this match on a seven game winning streak, including their quarter-final win over McMaster, and a 10-1-2 record (regular and postseason), while the Ravens held an 8-1-5 record and came in having won playoff games over Trent and TMU. Both teams were in strong positions and had the opportunity to fight for the right to play for a conference banner.
Both teams came out with a burst of energy, each fighting tirelessly for possession of the ball. York consistently applied close pressure on the Ravens' offence and held possession for most of the half. In the ninth minute, during a close attack, York's Anthony Marano took a shot that just barely missed wide left. In the 19th minute, A penalty was then given to the Ravens after a challenge just inside the box, allowing Mohamed Bouzidi to step up and score the first goal of the match and give Carleton the lead.
Tension between the two teams continued to build as players collided, fighting for every chance to score. A foul on Carleton in the 25th minute gave York's Christian Zeppieri a free kick, but his shot went high over the bar. After three yellow cards early in the half, along with several pushes and falls, aggression filled the field, and the Ravens left the half with the lead.
The second half began, and the stakes did not lessen. These final 45 minutes were the Lions' last chance to find the equalizer and keep their hopes at a championship alive. In the 64th minute, Matthew Fischer found himself open and tied the game with his first goal of the year, after going goalless in the regular season, to tie it up. By the 85th minute, the scramble to break the tie intensified, with both teams clawing for the win before the end of regulation. Neither team was able to do so, however, despite some extra stoppage time after an earlier injury to Lions keeper Dante Carraro that forced him to briefly leave the game, and the match went into extra time.
In the additional session, the pressure only grew. In the 114th minute, Carraro made a huge save off a shot by Carleton's Caden Tomy to keep it level. In the final minute of extra time, a corner from Marco Sciortino came to Zeppieri, but his shot was once again off the mark high, sending the match to penalty kicks.
Zeppieri took the first penalty, and it wasn't without some controversy. After orginally being called wide, Zeppieri pleaded that the shot went in and out through a hole in the net. The officials conferred, agreed and called it a goal to give York the lead. Tomy followed and scored for Carleton, before York's Anthony Marano converted his penalty, to make it 2-1. Then, Carraro came up with the first save of penalties off Adam Ross York's James Fidalgo and Carleton's Luke Harrop traded goals, before York's Matthew Fischer and Carleton's Joseph Daher did the same. That set up Matthew Medeiros with a chance to win it for the Lions, and he stepped up and made no mistake, sending the Lions to their third straight OUA championship and, thanks to Toronto's 2-0 win over Waterloo, their third straight U SPORTS championships.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will travel down Line 1 to tangle with the Varsity Blues in the OUA championship next Saturday at Varsity Stadium. Stay tuned to yorkulions.ca for more information on game times and potential promotions.
