Uzodinma Ukagwu | Sports Editor
Featured Image: The Lions women lost to the Marauders on Friday but beat the Badgers on Sunday. | Courtesy of York Lions
It was a bitter sweet weekend for the Lions soccer teams, as they each played a pair of games on Friday and Sunday against the McMaster Marauders and Brock Badgers respectively.
Neither team was able to achieve their desired outcome against Mac, as the women lost 1-0, and the men tied 1-1.
The women played first, losing 1-0 on a second-half goal from Marauder, Carling Goold.
The women’s game was intensely contested, with the Lions attempting 10 shots compared to the Marauders’ 12.
Both keepers were called upon several times in the game to rescue their teams. Lions’ keeper Tamara Orlando made six saves in the game while her Marauder counterpart made eight.
Ultimately, one goal was enough for Mac, who secured the 1-0 victory.
Despite the inclement weather, the men’s game proceeded as scheduled, and resulted in a 1-1 draw—the field was a mess due to rainfall throughout the match.
The game was scoreless for the entire first half, with the goal drought continuing into the second half, until Lions forward Omar Marzouk broke the deadlock with a goal in the 65th minute, handing the Lions a 1-0 lead.
The Marauders, however, found the equalizer late, in the 81st minute, tying the game at 1-1, which would become the final score.
However, Sunday was a different story for both teams, as they beat Brock 2-0, and 2-1 respectively, ending the weekend on a high note.
In the women’s game, neither team managed to break the stalemate in the opening half, as the two teams went into the break tied at nil.
The second half was a different affair though, as the Lions started optimistically, scoring a goal courtesy of Christina Morelli, assisted by Stephanie Lamanna in the 46th minute, to take a 1-0 lead over the Badgers.
Both players would combine again midway through the second half, for Christina Morelli’s second goal of the day, en route to a 2-0 victory.
The men didn’t wait as long to open the scoring, as they drew first blood in the 15th minute, courtesy of Cristian Cavallini.
The Badgers, however, rallied and responded with a goal of their own—evening the score at one goal a piece in the 32nd minute, setting up a tense second half.
The Lions found the back of the net for the second time in the match early in the second half, as Marzouk scored in the 50th minute, assisted by Dylan Carreiro.
The Badgers had a few more chances to tie the game, but the Lions held strong to secure a 2-1 victory.
Both Lions teams will be on the road this week, when they’ll be taking on the Algoma Thunderbirds, in Sault Ste. Marie, in a weekend double-header. Both games start at 1 p.m. for the women, and 3:15 p.m. for the men.
