Women's Soccer | 8/27/2025 4:36:00 PM
The 2025 season is here, and with it, renewed optimism for the York University Lions women's soccer team after a strong playoff run last fall.
The Lions will open up the 2025 season with a home and home series against the Laurier Golden Hawks Thursday night at York Lions Stadium in the York Orientation Game presented by Domino's Pizza.
The Lions look to set the tone early in the season, and, in so doing, beat the Hawks for the first time since 2022. The last time York defeated Laurier was Oct. 16, 2022, a 1-0 victory in Waterloo. The Lions last three meetings with the purple and gold have ended in draws, including a 1-1 draw at Laurier on Sept. 1 last year.
The Lions boast an experienced roster, with a crop of experienced players on all sides of the ball. Obviously, 2024 OUA West MVP Nia Fleming-Thompson grabs the headlines, but the likes of Bianca Jack, Alexandra Quaidoo and Brook-Lynne Mitchell are going to be extremely important pieces for a Lions team with the goal to win it all.
They got close last year, winning two playoff games – including a stunning upset of the top team in the OUA West and the No. 4 team in the nation, the Western Mustangs. Then, heartbreak befell them in the OUA semi-final on a stoppage-time winner by the Nipissing Lakers, sending York home prematurely. This year, with their veteran cast another year older, they look to take that next step towards a title.
The Golden Hawks, meanwhile, are coming off a down season in 2024 which saw them go just 3-5-4 and miss the playoffs. That was after an eight-win regular season and a playoff victory the year before, their first postseason win since 2017. They will look to get back on the winning track here in 2025, but will open their season with two of their toughest games of the season.
Lions head coach Carmine Isacco talked a lot in the season preview about his team needing to show more of the intangibles in order to win games this season. There were many mentions of the words, 'grit' and 'fight.' It's something he saw from his team in the playoffs last season, and if we see it again, Isacco said, "think how good we can be."
The Lions will almost certainly be a good team in 2025, in line to again host an opening-round playoff game and perhaps even another, but the rest of the OUA, including the Golden Hawks, will not be taking games off. Going off 2024, these two games are ones the Lions should take, but it will come down to the grit, fight and passion that Isacco has preached all camp to decide ultimately how deep the team goes.
The talent is there, but the Lions will need more than talent alone – in a loaded OUA West – to make some noise.
The orientation game presented by Domino's begins at 6:00 pm on Thursday from YLS, while Sunday's rematch goes at 4:00 pm in Waterloo. You can get tickets for Thursday's game here or watch both games for free on OUA.tv.
