Matt Dionne | Sports and Health Editor
Featured image: Algoma stumbles against two-time national champions York Lions. | Photo courtesy of York Lions
The York Lions men’s and women’s soccer teams opened their seasons last weekend in Sault Ste. Marie against the Algoma Thunderbirds.
York won all four games with ease, crushing the Thunderbirds by a combined score of 30-0.
The men will be looking to defend their title as national champions after winning the Sam Davidson Memorial Trophy for the past two years, while the women will look to improve on last season’s semifinal loss.
The women played first on Saturday, with Nour Ghoneim opening the scoring in the 14th minute, assisted by Christina Morelli. Ghoneim then returned the favor, assisting Morelli on the second goal of the game in the 38th minute.
York’s third goal of the match came late in the first half from Ashley Nater, assisted by Catherine Guevin. The Lions would take a 3-0 lead into halftime.
The Lions came out red–hot in the second half, scoring five goals. The first two came courtesy of Kiyani Johnson, assisted by Charlene D’Mello and unassisted, respectively.
Dina Ricco scored in the 78th minute, and then less than a minute later, Guevin scored York’s seventh goal. Both were unassisted.
York’s final goal came in the 90th minute from Morelli, who netted her second of the game.
The men’s quest for a threepeat started off strong. The Lions opened the scoring in the first minute of the game with an unassisted goal by Maurizio Ragone.
York’s second goal came in the 11th minute, credited to “team.” That would be it for the first half, as York would take a 2-0 lead into the break.
The Lions came out strong in the second half, scoring five goals. The first came in the 55th minute with an unassisted goal by Ryan Telfer.
Jonathan Lao scored York’s fourth goal of the match in the 61st minute, assisted by Telfer. York’s final three goals of the match were unassisted, with Milan Beader scoring in the 78th minute and Josh Kiselyov scoring less than a minute later. The final goal, in the 88th minute, was Telfer’s second of the match.
The women played first on Sunday as well, beating Algoma 11-0 and scoring seven goals in the first half. The men didn’t light up the net as much in their second game, beating the Thunderbirds by a more typical soccer score of 4-0.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will be back in action September 3, where they will play Laurier at home starting at 1 p.m.
