The York University Lions men's soccer team opened the home portion of their schedule on Sunday afternoon against the Western Mustangs. Coming off a season-opening 4-1 win on Friday against the Windsor Lancers, the reigning national champion Lions looked to make an early statement on the young season.
The Lions have had success in the past against Western and looked to put on a show while demonstrating why they are the reigning champions.
York came out strong in this one, as Anthony Morano had an early opportunity, but his shot was stopped by Western goalkeeper Ben Choudhry. Shortly after, Western's Matthew Rogers scored the first goal of the match in the 11th minute to give the Mustangs the early edge. Then, after York's Yigal Bruk had a shot stopped by Choudhry, the Mustangs secured their second goal of the match, with Gavin Goddard scoring off an assist from Rogers in the 18th minute, making it 2-0 Western.
At the 30-minute mark, York's Anthony Morano got the Lions on the board off an assist from Christian Zeppieri, who sent a gorgeous ball through to Morano, and he made no mistake. As the minutes counted down toward the half, the Lions fought to level the score, but the first half ended with Western up 2-1.
The Mustangs struck early out of the locker room, as Goddard buried his second goal of the match in the 50th minute, allowing Western to regain a two-goal lead. However, that did not discourage the Lions. Instead, it sparked a newfound fire under York. In the 50th minute, Ryan Robinson found the back of the net, placing a shot into the top-right corner and cutting Western's lead to 3-2.
Then, in the 69th, Robinson found the back of the net once again, as he had a ball into the area from Michael Campoli land at his feet and dribbled it through the defence before beating Choudry, leveling the score and putting the momentum squarely on the Lions bench.
York continued to fight for possession and create scoring opportunities, and in the 73rd minute, it was Campoli on the other end of a scoring play with an extraordinary finish, as, off a short corner from Matthew Fischer, Christian Zeppieri played it into the box and Campoli flicked it home off his back heel. That gave York its third straight marker and gave the home side its first lead of the day at 4–3.
The Lions successfully held onto their lead over the final ten-plus minutes, and stun the Mustangs by that 4-3 score for their second straight win to start 2026.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will be back in action Thursday night when they take on the McMaster Marauders at 8:15 p.m. in the annual Orientation Game at York Lions Stadium. The Lions will also raise their 2025 U SPORTS championship banner in a pregame ceremony. You can get tickets at yorkulions.ca/tickets, or watch the game free of charge on OUA TV.
