Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured Image: The game gave the men their sixth win in a row, bringing their record to an impressive 7-2-0. | Courtesy of Neil Menage
The result of a sunny afternoon of soccer at the University of Guelph saw the Lions trade victories against rival Gryphons, with the men squeaking out a 1-0 victory and the women failing to spark their offence in a 2-0 loss.
Riding on the high of a four-game winning streak, the Lions rolled into Guelph on Wednesday afternoon, intending to make it five straight against the fifth-ranked Gryphons.
After a slow start that saw several back-and-forth possessions which yielded little result from both teams, a glimmer of opportunity came York’s way when Gryphon Toni Zlomislic earned a yellow card outside the Guelph box for an aggressive tackle in the 27th minute. After an astounding set up and a kick that succeeded to pass through the wall of Gryphon players, the ball just missed the net, keeping the score nil-nil.
It was in the 35th minute when York finally managed to break the stalemate, as midfielder Christian Cavallini got possession of the ball in Gryphon territory, booting home his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
After several opportunities to break the scoreless spell, both teams failed to capitalize in the rest of the first half, due to many defensive stops and excellent play from both goalkeepers, York’s Mike Argyrides and Guelph’s Simon Norgrove.
The following half saw a bit of controversy in York territory, as Guelph thought they had barely netted home their first goal of the match in the 60th minute. Their shot, however, was kicked out at the right time by the Lions defence, to the protest of the Guelph players and fans.
This proved to be the final chance for the Gryphons, as the Lions finished the game with lockdown defence in the second half, resulting in a 1-0 final. The win gave goaltender Argyrides his fourth clean sheet and York’s sixth win of the season.
“It was good character building,” says Lions coach Carmine Isacco about the victory. “We were away from home and the conditions were incredibly difficult. I thought we performed well. We’ve had a few shutouts in the last four games, so that’s important to us.”
After the match it was the women’s turn to take the pitch against a Guelph squad that had defeated them earlier in the season by a score of 1-0.
After 17 minutes of constant Gryphon pressure in the Lion zone, York made their first defensive miscue that cost them, as a failed passback in the back-third resulted in a successful through-ball by the Gryphons, and a goal by forward Sydney Johnson.
The rest of the half saw a failure to build off of any momentum by both teams, as the score remained 1-0 after 45 minutes.
The beginning of the second half seemed to reveal a different York squad out of the gate, as they showed an increased amount of pressure in the front-third, forcing Gryphons’ keeper Libby Brenneman to make several spectactular saves.
This effort turned out to be for naught, as Guelph forward Victoria Hinchliffe put the game away in the 70th minute with her first goal of the season.
“We have to be better,” says Isacco after the game. “We have to be at our best in these particular situations. The little things have been hurting us and we haven’t been able to come back from it. We’re going to try to keep working on it and keep trying to get results by doing the little things well.”
Friday saw another pair of games against the Waterloo Warriors in Waterloo, resulting in a 4-0 victory for the men against the struggling home team and a 1-1 tie for the women.
The men’s game was highlighted by an electric offence led by midfielder Cavallini, who completed his second hat trick of the season. The game gave the men their sixth win in a row, bringing their record to an impressive 7-2-0.
Next up for the Lions will be the second part of a York-Waterloo back-to-back, on September 30 at Alumni Field.
Kick-off is at 1:00 p.m. for the women, and 3:15 p.m. for the men.
