Lions cruise to big win over Golden Hawks
The No. 5 nationally-ranked York University Lions men's soccer team defeated the OUA rival Laurier Golden Hawks on Thursday (Oct. 8) by a score of 5-0 at the new York Lions Stadium.
The No. 5 nationally-ranked York University Lions men's soccer team defeated the OUA rival Laurier Golden Hawks on Thursday (Oct. 8) by a score of 5-0 at the new York Lions Stadium.
The five-goal output was their most of the season in a single game, and the result avenged a 1-1 draw to the same team one week ago in Waterloo, Ont.
Tyrone Downes (Markham, Ont.) was the first Lion to fill the stat sheet in the 14th minute. After an initial shot was taken from distance that was incredibly saved by the cat-like Laurier goalkeeper Stephan Brudiu, Downes picked up the rebound and booted a well-placed ball over the crowd of Golden Hawk defenders for a 1-0 York lead.
Four minutes after the Downes opening goal, Joey Cicchillo (North York) scored a world-class strike from distance that curved into the top right corner. After the ball rattled the back of the net, Cicchillo darted for the corner flag where he slid across the wet grass on his stomach in celebration.
After a dominating start the Lions continued to put on the pressure. In the 27th minute Dena Iezady (Richmond Hill, Ont.) received a pass from the corner where he split two defenders and headed the ball into the net to register the third score of the match, extending the Lions lead to 3-0.
The Lions defence shut down any Golden Hawks attempt to attack their side of the pitch as the first half was controlled by the Lions from the get-go.
The second half was more of a defensive game by both the Golden Hawks and the Lions under the torrential downpour that struck, but the rain couldn't stop Cicchillo from adding his third goal on the season and second of the game at the 61st minute.
Benjamin Futoriansky (Richmond Hill, Ont.) scored his first goal of the season in the 68th minute to raise the lead to five and round out the scoring.
Goalkeeper Colm Vance (Bradford, Ont.) recorded a clean sheet after facing a few potential goal-scoring strikes that he turned away and smothered. He made three saves for the win.
York's record is now 8-1-2 on the 2015 campaign and the Lions are now alone in second in the OUA West Division with 26 points.
The Lions men's team will be back on the turf on Sunday (Oct. 10) at 3:15pm when they face the Waterloo Warriors at York Stadium.
Source: York Lions
