For the fourth time in the past eight years, the men’s soccer team has climbed to the top of the mountain under the guidance of head coach Carmine Isacco. Playing in front of an electric crowd at York Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the star-studded team passed another milestone in what is becoming a team legacy when they defeated the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds and won the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s soccer national championship for the second year in a row.
This was the Lions’ first time hosting the CIS tournament since 1996. The best university teams from across Canada travelled to Toronto to battle for the Sam Davidson Memorial Trophy, which the Lions have previously hoisted four times (1977, 2008, 2010, and 2014) out of nine appearances in the CIS tournament. Fresh from their three-peat in the Ontario University Athletics championship earlier in November, the Lions carried the momentum into Thursday’s quarter-final game against the Cape Breton Capers. The Capers fell by a score of 4-1, thanks to three goals by striker Michael Cox in just 18 minutes of play.
That qualified the Lions for Saturday’s semifinal game against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds have hoisted the Davidson Trophy a record 13 times, eight more than the next best team in Canada. There’s no surprise, then, that this was a tough game, with both teams remaining unable to score even all the way to the end of the overtime period. The two top-ranked teams in the CIS then had to decide the game via penalty kicks, in which the Lions narrowly secured a victory by outscoring the Thunderbirds 5-4.
The Lions stepped onto the field on Sunday afternoon ready to defend their championship against the Varsity Reds. Cox opened the scoring in the first half with a seemingly impossible goal. The Reds continued to pressure the Lions’ defense, but the line of players held and retaliated, with Dena Iezady scoring late in the game to give the Lions a 2-0 lead and then the cherished victory.
“I’m proud,” says Isacco. “Proud of how they’ve conducted themselves as individuals and proud of how they play on the field.”
Isacco cites team culture-building as the reason for his team’s incredible success in recent years. “We’ve had a good group of players in the last 10 years that has developed a proper culture of preparation, winning, and competing.”
This culture-building happens off the field as well.
“Ever since Carmine has come to this program he has preached a family atmosphere and a lot of the guys are very close off the field,” says assistant coach Luca Forno. “It is important to not only be a great player but a great person as well who can fit in with the tight-knit family culture that has been created.”
Isacco’s recruitment network and strategy have also played an important role in the Lions’ achievements. Cox, for example, was a fourth-year recruit from Calgary this season and his contributions on the field have been crucial. “Every single player that steps foot in our dressing room knows how competitive it is to play for the squad and never takes their spot for granted,” says Iezady, who explains that the resulting commitment and attitude of the players is a huge factor in the team’s success.
Isacco says he delegates a lot of decision-making power to his athletes on the field, since they are the ones carrying the team. “They’re playing the game,” he says. “We just give them a gist. It’s their intuitive ability and their ability technically, tactically, mentally, and physically that makes a difference, so they get a lot of freedom.”
And though it is true that the team has climbed to the top of the mountain in their level of competition in Canada, staying on top is no easy task. “We had a lot of pressure on our shoulders all season,” says Iezady. “We made sure to take our season one game at a time. After one game was over, regardless of the result, we immediately would begin to prepare for our next game.”
The team’s coaches have some advice for other teams and programs at York. Forno suggests designing the program so that the team continues to practice and play regularly throughout the off-season. “Set high standards,” adds Isacco, “and challenge your players.”
That’s definitely what he will be doing in the off-season as the Lions prepare to defend their OUA and CIS titles next season and continue to build a legacy for future generations of Lions to admire and live up to.
Hassam Munir, Sports and Health Editor
