Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured image: Fifth-years Malcolm Loukides, Jonathan Lao, Joey Cicchillo, and De Vante Walker play final games for Lions. | Courtesy of York Lions
In a surprise upset, the Lions soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of the host Thompson River WolfPack on Thursday in Kamloops, BC in their U SPORTS quarter-final matchup.
The match featured several scoring chances for the Lions, who succeeded in putting the ball in front of the net throughout the game, but failed to put it past goalkeeper Allan Connor.
York’s best opportunity came in the 42nd minute, when Lion Josh Kiselyov got a head on the ball in front of the net in a crowd of players. The shot would sail over the bar, however, and keep the score knotted up at nil-nil going into halftime.
The 58th minute of play saw the WolfPack get on the scoreboard when Josh Banton managed to get a head on the ball off of a free kick, directing it into the net past goalkeeper Quillan Roberts.
Frustration seemed to boil over for the scoreless Lions, as they managed to pick up six cards in the half. York would find themselves in a hole when defender Francesco Sinopoli was given an immediate red card due to an aggressive tackle on a WolfPack forward, a play that would bring the Lions down to 10 men for the rest of the game.
In a last-minute desperation attempt to score, the Lions managed three corner kicks in a row in front of the WolfPack net.
Unfortunately, none would go in, and Thompson River would escape with the 1-0 victory.
Although the loss ended the Lions U SPORTS Championship hopes for the 2017 season, they were still tasked with playing for the consolation semi-final on Friday against the UQAM Citadins.
Lions goaltender Mike Argyrides was tested very early on, when Citadin Joderic Sedjro was able to get into the front third and head the ball towards the net. Argyrides was ready for the shot, however, and was able to make his first save of the game.
After getting shutout in their previous game, the Lions came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, attempting nine shots on goal and four corner kicks in the first half.
Despite these opportunities, every shot was either blocked, kicked wide, or saved by goaltender Valentin Lamoulin, who managed three saves in the half.
In the 73rd minute, York finally got the chance they were looking for when midfielder Jonathan Lao passed the ball up to striker Joey Cicchillo, both playing in the final U SPORTS tournament of their Lions careers. After corralling the ball, Cicchillo was able to blast home York’s first goal of the playoffs.
York was given another opportunity in the 80th minute, when Citadin player Hamza Methamem was given a yellow card in the UQAM box after an aggressive tackle. This meant a penalty for the Lions, which was taken and converted by Lao, bringing the score to 2-0, which would become the final.
For the Consolation Championship Game on Saturday, the Lions would face a familiar foe in the Carleton Ravens, a team the Lions beat in the OUA championship just last week.
As expected, both teams showed why they were ranked first and second in the OUA, combining for 15 shots on goal in the half.
Goaltender Andrew D’Souza was given the start for this game, and saved both shots on goal that came his way.
In the 35th minute, the Lions were given an excellent chance when forward Milan Beader took a shot that was saved by Ravens goalkeeper Nick Jeffs, only for it to find the foot of Dylan Carreiro, who would put it past Jeffs for the first goal of the game.
Looking to tie things up, Carleton managed 10 shots in the second half compared to just three by the Lions. The Ravens finally managed to put one on the scoreboard in the 87th minute, when Carleton forward Emad Houache crossed the ball to forward Gabriel Bitar in the front third and was able to finish for their first goal of the game.
After the rest of regulation solved nothing, the game would go straight into penalties to decide a winner. With the penalty kicks tied at 3-3, it was up to Lion Sergiu Anton for the game-winning goal. He would make no mistake on the kick, putting it past Jeffs to give the Lions the 2017 U SPORTS Consolation championship.
The fifth-place finish brings the 2017 season to an end for the Lions, who saw a successful first-place regular season end with an OUA Championship. Leaving the team this year are fifth-years Malcolm Loukides, Lao, Cicchillo, and De Vante Walker.
