Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured Image: York’s soccer season kicked off with a split against Laurier. | Courtesy of York Lions
Sunday was bittersweet for the York soccer teams, as they split their Orientation Week matchups with Laurier, as the men charged their way to a 4-0 victory, while the women were shutout 1-0.
The men’s success could be credited, in most part, to the play of midfielder Christian Cavallini, who netted a hat trick in the Sunday-evening affair. After a first half of strong defensive play on the back end and a goal by Cavallini, the Lions burst out of the gate in the second half by scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes.
And then, in the 80th minute of play, Cavallini netted his third goal of the match, effectively putting the game out of reach.
The win brings the men’s team to a record of 2-2-0. With two losses in the first five games of the season, it’s an uncharacteristically slow start for the men, who have seen three OUA championships and two national championships over the last four seasons.
Despite the early adversity, the Lions will look to gain momentum this Thursday in front of a packed Orientation-Week crowd, as the Lions face off against McMaster Marauders at Alumni Field.
On the other end, the women’s team fell short of a victory on Sunday, losing to the Wilfrid Laurier women’s team by a score of 1-0. Both teams struggled offensively throughout the entire match. However, it was Laurier that eventually broke the stalemate, as Golden Hawk forward Gagan Parhar scored the only goal of the match, which came in the 27th minute.
The loss means the Lionesses are still searching for their first win of the season, bringing them to a record of 0-2-1. They hope to break into the win column this Thursday, in front of the York faithful against McMaster at Alumni Field.
Kickoff is at 6:00 p.m. for the women, and 8:15 p.m. for the men.
