Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured Image: Christina Morelli ties the game in the 90th minute off of a penalty kick. | Courtesy of York Lions
York’s men’s and women’s soccer teams entered Thursday’s frosh matchup facing unexpected adversity through the early part of their respective campaigns.
The women kicked off the night against McMaster, finding themselves without a win entering the match. Despite the energetic and relentless support of the frosh crowd, the Lions found themselves in a hole early by the foot of Marauders striker Maila Carboni in the 31st minute.
McMaster continued to apply pressure coming out of halftime, scoring another goal in the 52nd minute courtesy of midfielder Faye Stavropoulos. The 2-0 deficit was cut in half in the 60th minute when Lion midfielder Ashley Nater found the ball in a mad scramble in front of the net, and scored her first goal of the season.
Entering the final minutes of the match and with York still down 2-1, a glimmer of hope came in the dying seconds when Stavropoulos drew a yellow card in the Mauraders’ box, allowing York to attempt a penalty kick as the last play of the game. A hush fell over the enormous crowd of Lions fans as everyone waited with bated breath.
This silence was abruptly broken when York midfielder Christina Morelli converted the penalty, finding the top-right corner of the net, and tying the game at 2, which would become the final score.
“Thursday was a great indication of how we can be resilient and be good with the ball,” said head coach Carmine Isacco. “I think our mentality all year is going to be to never quit. We’ve been better or as good as any opponent we have played. It’s just that we’re still really young, and we haven’t made some fantastic decisions. We’ve come on the short end.”
After a short break, it was the men’s turn to build off the excitement of the York crowd. The Lions came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, scoring in the 2nd minute of the match off the foot of York forward Milan Beader. This gave the Lions some much needed momentum for the rest of the half, as they netted three more goals in the 20th, 24th, and 40th minutes courtesy of Lions leading scorer Christian Cavallini, CIS Male Player of the Year Jonathan Lao, and rookie midfielder Dylan Carreiro.
The Marauders did manage to respond, as midfielder Yunus Mollayev broke the Lions shutout in the 26th minute. The score probably shouldn’t have been as close as it was, as McMaster only managed five shots in the half, while York took more than three times that, with 17.
In the second half it was Mac who drew first blood, as rookie Marauders midfielder Anand Sergeant netted the Marauders’ second goal of the match in the 47th minute. This was the only blemish in an otherwise strong outing for Lions goaltender Mike Argyrides, who saved seven shots in the half.
The game was put out of reach in the 78th minute when Cavallini found the back of the net for the second time in the match, and the fifth time in the last two games. This brought the score to 5-2, which would eventually become the final.
“Thursday was a bit of an indication of how dangerous we can be going forward,” added Isacco. “As far as our personnel is moving forward, it’s quite exciting, and lethal: the addition of Carreiro and Cavallini finding his form. All those factors combined are key for us as far as our offensive output.”
“Cavallini is finding his rhythm. It’s hard to play two games in two days, and to be at your best when you’ve played six games in a little over a week. He’s a great player when he gets proper service and he complements a strong team going forward. Everyone has their role moving ahead right now, and Cavallini is probably the focal point.”
When speaking about Thursday’s matchups, Isacco spoke about the impact that the packed frosh crowd had on his players.
“It’s marked on the calendar every year. It’s something for us. We thank the school for having it, and I think the school appreciated the effort and the excitement of both games and the product and entertainment we tried to put on the field. We hope to get more fans.”
While the men will try to extend their winning streak to four games, the women hope to break into the win column this Sunday against the Brock Badgers in front of the York faithful at Alumni Field.
Kick-off is at 1:00 p.m. for the women, and 3:15 p.m. for the men.
