The York University Lions women's soccer team did battle with the Brock Badgers on Friday evening at York Lions Stadium in a game between two teams battling for the final OUA West playoff spot.
The Lions, standing at 3-4-2, entered play on the outside looking into the playoff picture, while the visiting place Badgers came in at match at 3-3-2, occupying the sixth and final postseason spot. With both teams playing for their playoff lives, the match promised physicality and competitiveness with the 2025 season near its end.
In a match that featured both goalkeepers making their season debuts, the Lions' Gracie Abbink, and the Badgers Emi Foster, offensive attacks were conservatively managed early on. York was able to hold the majority of the possession, and forced a couple through-balls near the Brock net, but otherwise struggled to get anything going for most of the first half.
However, the York still created the lion's share of scoring chances, the closest being a short-side shot in the box by Kyra Nasseri that just glanced off the side of the net. In the 38th minute, though, Nasseri avenged her near-miss with a rocket of a shot from outside the box found the top left corner of the net past Foster's fingertips. Assisted by Erica Di Matteo, this put the Lions up 1-0 at halftime. In a solid first half, it was York who clearly held the momentum, leading in shots 6-2. Abbink was also sharp in net on Brock's few scoring chances, making her first pair of OUA saves in the half.
York's defence fought off early offensive aggressiveness from Brock in the second, and their offence nearly doubled their lead after a shot by Bianca Jack in the box off their first corner kick of the game sailed just over the crossbar. Near the 65th minute, Brock ramped up their frantic pressure on the Lions even further, looking to create counter attacks against them. The Lions almost worked this to their advantage, with a flurry of shots from Alexandra Quaidoo and Giuliana Paolella, but Foster was equal to the task, before Paolella's chance missed an open net.
With ten minutes left in the match, the Lions were content to drop back into their own zone and set up a brick wall protecting their net, trying to close out the Badgers and earn a critical three points. However, after Brock won a ball battle on the left-hand side, the ball spilled out to the foot of Lexie Foster, and with no defender accounting for her, she was able to find room and chip it over the head of Abbink, equalizing the game at 1-1 in the 85th minute. The Lions attempted to push their offence up the field late, looking to re-take the lead. However, they struggled to generate chances, and the match ultimately ended in a 1-1 draw. Although the Lions' playoff aspirations remain positive, they will likely need to win out in their final two games of the season in order to secure a spot.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will hit the road for a rematch hosted by the Badgers on Sunday,afternoon in St. Catharines. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00pm, with coverage available on OUA TV.
