The York Lions men’s soccer team wrapped up its regular season this past weekend an all focus is now shifted to the playoffs. With their ninth straight post-season appearance, the Lions are no strangers to the Ontario University Athletics playoff picture. A core of talented young players has facilitated this tradition of soccer excellence at York. Finishing on top of the West standings, the Lions have earned a first round bye into the quarterfinal game, which is set to take place on October 27.
The standings in the West division of the OUA are close and competitive. McMaster and Guelph will be challenging for a spot in the finals that York is also focused on getting to after failing to do so last year. The tougher regular-season opponents of the two have been the McMaster Marauders, who defeated the Lions in their two meetings this season. The back-to-back defending champion Marauders have definitely subscribed to the theory that defence wins championships, conceding an OUA-low 8 goals during the regular season.
“McMaster is a very organized team that worked hard and intelli- gently against us,” says York’s Head Coach Carmine Isacco,” but we are prepared to play them at any time. We just need to do better taking our chances.”
On the other side of the bracket, the East division packs some serious power of its own. Ryerson is going into the playoffs being not only the top team in the East but the top team in the OUA. Much of the Rams’ success has come from the team’s constant pressure at the midfield and forward positions.
Midfielder Alexander Braletic is leading all OUA scorers with 13 goals to his name this season, which averages to more than one goal a game. The Rams are definitely not shy in front of the net and constantly look to let it fly. This attacking philosophy led them to an 11-game winning streak earlier this season. Since Ryerson is in the East division, York has not had the chance to play against the Rams in the regular season, making a finals matchup between the two Toronto-based schools a particularly exciting one if it were to happen.
“Lao is an exceptional player, leader, and person. He has gone beyond our expectations on and off the field. He is the type of player that epitomizes what the York soccer culture is.”
With Lao leading the way, York’s top 5 scorers are all first and second-year players. This gives the Lions a solid young core that will only get tougher in the near future.
Having established that the top teams to look out for are Ryerson, McMaster, and Guelph, the rest of the playoff pool cannot be discounted. The playoffs offer a one and done scenario. The win-or-go- home axiom will be brought up in every team’s locker room. Each mistake is now magnified and every lesson learned in the regular season will be tested. The Lions are hungry and roaring.
Amjed Al Salman
Contributor
