Victoria Alarcon
Sports & Health Editor
Fourth-year defenceman Jamaal Smith knows a thing or two when it comes to playing soccer against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. Sunday’s showdown went down exactly as he expected.
“Their whole game plan was to get their defenders to connect the ball to their strikers,” he explained after shutting down his opponent’s every shot and making the final score 2-0.
The tone of his play included quick passes left and right, but he maintained composure over the Hawks’ aggressive offence. Thanks, too, to a superb three-man defence – Dominic Antonini, Daniel Fabrizi, and Branko Majstorovic – there was no possible route for Laurier to take to victory.
First quarter started off great for the York Lions as Smith ran with the ball swiftly down the field and shot a sharp ball right into the net. This limited the Laurier players, who were now on the losing end of a team who often offer their rivals no chances to score goals.
The Hawks would try with forward Spencer Cawker and striker Ben Clifford in the middle of the first half. The pair continuously tried to sneak one past York’s forward and mid-field players, but their attempt to pass Lions player Fabrizi was unsuccessful as he was able to steal the ball away. Fabrizi played a solid game Sunday, using his body to push his opponents out of the way. Combined with great control and wit, he became a dominant player in the game.
Though there were instances where Laurier managed to slide past the Lions’ defence, the team was unable to faze goalkeeper Sotiri Varlokostas, who was there to block the shot.
The game stayed in York’s favour as Adrian Pena furthered the lead, scoring near the beginning of the second half with an assist by defender Majstorovic. It was a clear fumble by Laurier’s defence that gave Pena the opportunity to take the advantage and shoot the ball in.
“It’s always help from my teammates,” emphasized Pena when asked about his outstanding performance in the league. “Branko gave a good ball to mid and I was just in the right spot at the right time.”
Pena is the second highest goal scorer in Ontario University Athletics (OUA) leader board, with four goals under his belt.
It was at that point that the York Lions ended the game with a more defensive approach and dealt the Golden Hawks a 2-0 shutout. The win was refreshing for many players after Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Waterloo Warriors.
“I think we saw something that we haven’t seen in the league for awhile. Even though we didn’t have the ball as much as we’d like, especially in the first half, we defended well and created enough opportunities to win the game comfortably,” said Carmine Isacco, head coach of the York Lions.
Many York players were happy with the day’s result and owe it to the effort demonstrated throughout the game. Smith summarized the game in a few words: “Today we were able to get our chances finished and that was the end result.”
The team can now add three points to their overall score in the OUA standings and find themselves tied for third in the west division, just behind Western and McMaster.
The York Lions’ goal now is beating big rival Western Mustangs and taking over the west, with nationals clearly not far from their minds as well.
However, before the team can start thinking about nationals, they will have to face off once again against the Waterloo Warriors. Issaco is already working on making sure their opponent will not win again.
“We lost that one, which was a heartbreaker, but now is the time where we need to get regenerated and refocused.
