Men's Soccer | 11/5/2025 9:45:00 PM
Three members of the York University Lions men's soccer team were honoured at the U SPORTS men's soccer awards banquet on Wednesday night.
Christian Zeppieri, the exceptional third-year midfielder from Maple, Ont., was named a U SPORTS first team all-Canadian for the third straight season after becoming the first player in OUA men's soccer history to the win the MVP award three times, let alone in as many seasons. Despite not even leading his team in goals, Zeppieri finished with eight, good enough to be named an OUA first team all-star once again. He becomes only the third player in program history to be named a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian three times, joining Jonathan Lao (2013, 2015-16) and Francesco Bruno (2007-09).
The man who did lead the Lions in scoring, Anthony Morano, was one of two Lions to make the national all-rookie squad, making York one of only three teams in the country, along with Sherbrooke and UBC, to have more than one all-rookie. The Woodbridge, Ont., native led the Lions in goals this season with nine, including a hat trick on Sept. 29 against the Western Mustangs in a 5-1 win. The forward and english major scored goals in seven of the 12 games in which he appeared during the regular season in his first U SPORTS campaign.
The other Lion to make the all-rookie team is Marco Sciortino. The midfielder from Maple, Ont., took home the OUA West Rookie of the Year award, becoming the second consecutive York player to earn that award after Luca Accettola did so in 2024, and the 13th all-time. While Sciortino wasn't selected national rookie of the year as was Accettola a year ago, he was another impactful piece on the Lions run to their thrid straight OUA silver. Sciortino's season was highlighted by a hat trick on Sept. 12 against the Windsor Lancers in a 4-0 York win, to account for three of his five goals on the season.
Zeppieri, Morano, Scirortino and the rest of the Lions will open up the U SPORTS championships Thursday morning at 11:00 am against the AUS-champion Dalhousie Tigers.
York Athletics & Recreation is offering a free ticket and subway ride to and from the game for the first 50 York students to register. You can do so at yorkulions.ca/roadtrip, purchase tickets here or stream the game live on CBC Gem or the CBC Sports YouTube channel.
