It was a duel between the York University Lions men's soccer team and the Brock Badgers, the top two in the OUA West, as a pair of powerhouses did battle on Friday night at York Lions Stadium.
York entered play 6-1-2 and leading the divison, while the Badgers came in at 5-1-2, three points back of York. The match served as a potential glimpse at a playoff matchup later this month, as York looked to inch closer to yet another OUA West crown.
Early on, York controlled the pace of the game. The Badgers looked to establish themselves physically, and did so, totalling six fouls in the half, with York adding four of their own. Unfazed however, the Lions got their second corner kick of the game, taken by Christian Zeppieri, who placed it right on the foot of Anthony Morano inside the box. Morano fired it home into the bottom left corner of the net, giving his squad a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute. With it, Morano also took sole possession of the second in the OUA in scoring with eight.
Continuing to keep their pressure on, York stormed up the pitch, where Marco Sciortino found a seam in the middle of the box and fired it past Brock keeper Nikola Neskovic, doubling the leadin the 42nd minute. Just before halftime, Tiago Pereira of Brock drew his second yellow card of the match, resulting in a red card and forcing his team to play with 10 mwen. With this working in York's advantage for the rest of the match, the Lions held firm in a high-flying and chippy first half that saw four total cards assessed.
Already up a pair, the Lions looked to find some insurance in the second half. However, it was the defence who shone in the second, shutting down any Badgers advances. Zeppieri, already with two assists to his name, found said insurance, however, burying one in the bottom right corner of the net in the 74th minute off a York counterattack to make it 3-0 and put it out of reach.
From there, the Lions sat back in their zone, although taking the occasional chance on the other side if the opportunity was given to them, and cruised to a 3-0 victory in a solid team effort. With this win, the Lions hold the top spot in the entire OUA, pending TMU's results this weekend, and will look to keep it that way going into their final two games.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will look for to potentially clinch the OUA West, dependent on other scores this weekend, when they travel to St. Catharines for a rematch with the Badgers on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 3:15pm, with coverage available on OUA TV.
