They've done it again, men's soccer team achieves three-peat at OUA championships

Both Lions’ soccer teams wrapped up very successful seasons this past weekend by battling their way through the Ontario University Athletics playoffs. The men’s team won the OUA West championship for the third year in a row, while the tremendous effort of the women’s team landed them in fourth place, their best result in six years.
The women’s competition was held in Ottawa, where the Lions played the semifinal match on Saturday against the Queen’s Gaels. Both teams played a very intense head to head game, with the Gaels getting on the scoreboard an hour into the game and keeping the Lions from doing the same.
The Lions fought valiantly and managed to score with just 10 minutes left in the game, tying up the contest at 1-1 and forcing it into overtime. Neither team found the back of the net in the overtime period, resulting in a contest of penalty kicks to determine who would advance to the finals. The penalty kicks lasted eight rounds before one of the Gaels players scored on the Lions, securing a spot in the finals for her team.
The next day the women’s team was back on the field for the OUA bronze medal game against the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The game started off with the Lions dominating possession of the ball, but the Gee-Gee’s soon took a 1-0 lead as they scored early in the game. They scored once again in the second period, leading to a 2-0 loss for the Lions.
Though unable to win a medal, the team nevertheless had a very successful season and ended off at fourth place in OUA West rankings, their best record since 2009. Lions striker Nour Ghoneim was also named the division’s MVP for the second year in a row and scored 18 goals in 16 games, the best record in Canada.
Meanwhile, the men’s squad battled their way up to Sunday’s OUA finals with a 1-0 semifinals victory on Saturday against the UofT Varsity Blues. The game was intense, as both teams came close to scoring on several occasions but failed to do so. The game spilled into overtime, and the Lions’ dominant Michael Cox, the leading scorer in the OUA West, got the ball into the Varsity Blues’ net to finally break the deadlock and give the Lions a 1-0 lead. The Varsity Blues were unable to score in return, sending the Lions to the OUA finals.
On Sunday afternoon, the Lions faced rival McMaster Marauders in the finals for the second year in a row. Although the Marauders were set on knocking the Lions off of their winning streak, the Lions’ persevered, responding to the Marauders’ early goal with two of their own, dealt by Jarek Whiteman and Michael Cox. Lions’ goalkeeper Colm Vance made a spectacular save with just seconds left in the game to prevent a tie-up and secure a third OUA championship for his team.
The men’s team is the first team to three-peat in their conference since the Western Mustangs achieved the same in the 1990s. They can now turn their attention to defending their Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship on home turf, starting Thursday, November 12.
Cynthia Lam
Contributor