Varsity Athletics | 10/28/2025 4:00:00 PM

York University Lions field hockey goalkeeper Ella Ciesielski and men's soccer player Matthew Fischer have been named the latest York athletes of the week, for the period ending Oct. 26.

Ciesielski, a rookie from Burlington, Ont., led the Lions to their first OUA championship since 2022 this past weekend with a pair of solid games between the pipes at the OUA Final Four in Waterloo. She backstopped her team to a nail-biting 1-0 win over Guelph in the semi-final, stopping all three shots she faced against a Guelph team that lost just once in the regular season and scored the second-most goals in the OUA with (29). The psychology major then allowed justa goal on three shots in the OUA gold medal game against the Toronto Varsity Blues on Sunday.

Ciesielski and the Lions will depart Tuesday morning for the Field Hockey Canada U SPORTS Invitational Championships in Charlottetown, P.E.I., which begin Thursday and run through Sunday. They will open play Thursday with a rematch of the 2024 gold medal game against Victoria at 1:00 pm ET. The full tournament schedule can be found here.

Fischer, a third-year kinesiology and health science major from Toronto, Ont., was a key cog in the Lions OUA semi-final win over the Carleton Ravens on Saturday night. The former Canisius Griffin equalized the game in the 64th minute, knotting things at 1-1. He then stepped forward in the penalty shootout with the Lions ahead 3-2 in penalties, and potted York's fourth goal in as many shots, helping to secure a victory and send the Lions to their third straight OUA – and, as it turned out, U SPORTS – championship. This marked the second straight year Fischer scored in the semis; he also did so against the TMU Bold to earn the Lions the win in extra time.

Fischer and the Liosn will travel down the subway line to Varsity Stadium to battle the Toronto Varsity Blues for the OUA championship on Saturday at 4:00 pm. Stay tuned to yorkulions.ca for promotional details.