Soccer at York has been kicked off with the lady Lion’s soccer team continuing its pre-season action this week, and starting up the season this Labour Day weekend.
Following a 4-0 win against the Humber Hawks, coach Carmine Isacco explained that these pre-season games are a chance for the coaches to observe new players and develop some chemistry. The team will be aiming for a strong start to the regular season; last year’s season was finished off with a 4-5-7 record, with the team ending up in seventh place in the OUA West.
The game against the Hawks was mostly about evaluating players and working out kinks. Their next pre-season game against Ryerson on the 25 will be more serious, as it will help them prepare for their game against the Brock Badgers and the rest of upcoming season.
“We will use this match against Ryerson as more of a preparation match. We will use our top 20-24 players to see where they will fit in on the team and within the league.”
When asked what goals he has in mind for this year’s season, Carmine’s response could be boiled down to one phrase, “one thing at a time”.
“We don’t look too far. We just want to try to be our best. Our first goal is to be our best against Brock.”
Building on their pre-existing strengths, the team is hoping to boost their odds with the recent transfer of Mylesia Mctouchie from the United States.
“We have some depth. We added the little things that we think we needed and hopefully we can turn some of those eight ties into wins,” explains coach Carmine.
Some of the challenges facing the team include connecting and finishing. According to CIS first-team all-Canadian Sarah Wong, this is something the team has been actively working on during pre-season.
Further boosting the Lion’s chances is a large recruiting class which Wong puts down to York’s attractive program.
“This year we had 8-10 new recruits who came in. Most of them will probably be playing. I think we have a good team here at York which has attracted many players.”
Action begins this week against the Ryerson Rams in their final pre-season game. This will be followed by visits from the Brock Badgers and McMaster Marauders on August 30 and 31.
Alex Kvaskov, Sports Editor
Photo by Kinga Syzmczyk
