Uzodinma Ukagwu | Sports Editor
Featured Image: The men’s soccer team extends their winning streak to three games, and has yet to lose this season. | Courtesy of YorkU Lions
The York men’s and women’s soccer teams were at Laurier earlier this week, taking on the Golden Hawks.
The Lions women played first, and pushed the tempo from the opening kick, pressing the Laurier Golden Hawks and scoring the first goal of the match, courtesy of midfielder Christina Morelli in the fifth minute.
The rest of the first half was an end-to-end game, with the Lions and Golden Hawks attempting seven and five shots respectively. The Lions came close to scoring a second goal, when midfielder Kalifornia Mitchell beat the keeper, but found the bar, instead of the twine.
The Golden Hawks started strong in the second half, equalising through Erin Braun in the first minute after the restart, to tie the game at 1-1.
The second half saw a more attack-minded Golden Hawks press the Lions in the front third, as Laurier registered nine shots, compared to the Lions’ five.
The Golden Hawks’ persistence finally paid off late in the game when the Lions conceded an 84th minute penalty which was converted by Pauline McCordic, to give Laurier a 2-1, which would become the final score.
The men, however, won their third match 4-0, extending their winning streak to three games.
The Lions put on a dominant display, scoring all four goals in the first twenty-six minutes. Lions midfielder, Maurizio Ragone, opened the scoring in the 14th minute, and forward, Omar Marzouk, scored the second goal just 41 seconds later.
Ragone scored his second goal of the game, and the third goal overall, in the 22nd minute, and the fourth goal was scored by Lions midfielder Jorgo Nika in the 26th minute.
The Lions peppered the Golden Hawks’ goal in the first half, looking to pad their stats, as they registered a relentless 12 shots in the half, compared to only three by the Hawks.
The Lions continued their dominant display in the second half, attempting nine more shots, while only conceding five to the Hawks, bringing their total to 21 with 15 on target.
Ragone and Marzouk were the stand-out players for the Lions with six and four shots respectively.
York is currently tied for first place on the OUA West, with an unblemished 3-0-1 record. The women, on the other hand, sit in fifth place on the OUA West, with a record of 1-1-1.
The men will look to repeat their performance, while the women get a shot at revenge as both teams take on Laurier again today in the second half of their home and home series, in the annual Frosh Frenzy game.
Kick off is at 6 p.m. for the women, and 8:15 p.m. for the men.
