York's historic Alumni Field hosted the first-ever Field Hockey Canada U SPORTS Invitational Championship from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3. This reimagined event under the U SPORTS banner was facilitated through York University Athletics & Recreation with the assistance of Field Hockey Canada, the national governing body for field hockey in Canada. The four-day event saw teams from across the country - the Canada West champions, the University of Victoria Vikes; the Atlantic University champions, the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers; the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) champions, the University of Waterloo Warriors; and the hosts, the York Lions - compete for a national title. The Lions battled the Vikes in the gold medal game, but came up just short of the national title, earning a well-deserved silver medal.
The following weekend, the Lions men's soccer team battled for another national title in Oshawa, Ont., at the 2024 Bruce Power U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships hosted by Ontario Tech University. York U, the OUA silver medalists, beat Atlantic University Sport runner-up, St. Francis Xavier University, in the quarter-final, winning their first opening round game since 2015. That meant a date with the RSEQ (Quebec) conference champions, the Université de Montréal Carabins, in the semi-final and guaranteed York a chance to play for a medal. Despite a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in the semi-final, the Lions earned a dominant 3-1 win over RSEQ finalists McGill University to bring home a bronze medal, the Lions' first U SPORTS men's soccer medal since 2015.
York University Lions men's soccer team.
Meanwhile, 2024 was the beginning of a renaissance for the Lions football program under first-year head coach Dexter Janke. The Lions won their first game since 2019 in the annual Red & Blue Bowl against their in-city rivals, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, on Sept. 21 by a score of 19-17. York then won their second game on Oct. 5, 39-24, over the Waterloo Warriors for their first-ever win at York Lions Stadium. The Lions were in position to make their first post-season appearance in two decades with a win over the McMaster University Marauders on the season's final day, but came up just short in a hard-fought 24-21 loss. However, despite the heartbreak of missing the playoffs, the Lions have put the pieces in place to put the program back on the OUA football map.
York University Lions men's football team.
As for the two-term sports, the Lions men's volleyball team is turning heads early in the OUA season. After winning just six matches last season, they have surpassed that total through the first month of play. York started 7-0, their best start since their OUA championship-winning season in 2004-05. Thanks to their 7-0 start, the Lions earned their first U SPORTS Top 10 ranking since the week of Feb. 27 to Mar. 5, 2023, after a quarter-final playoff win over Queen's University. It was also York's first time in the national rankings during regular season competition since Oct. 26 to Nov. 1, 2015, the opening week of the 2015-16 season. They finished the first half 8-2, highlighted by a four-set win over the No. 4-ranked Queen's Gaels in their final match of the 2024 calendar year.
Several Lions raked in major conference and national awards during the fall semester. Men's soccer player Christian Zeppieri won both the OUA West Most Valuable Player (MVP) and U SPORTS Player of the Year, while rookie teammate Luca Accettola was named the OUA West and U SPORTS Rookie of the Year. Meanwhile, women's soccer player Nia Fleming-Thompson was acclaimed OUA West MVP and a U SPORTS first-team all-Canadian. York women's rugby head coach Spencer Robinson garnered OUA Coach of the Year honours after leading his team to a 2-4 record in his first season at the helm, bringing the program its first two victories since 2022 and to within a game of its first OUA playoff appearance since 2019.
After a successful fall semester, the Lions appear poised to make several playoff pushes in the winter term.
This story was originally featured in YFile, York University's community newsletter.
