Box Score York 4, Guelph 1
Toronto (October 4, 2014) – In a battle of two top ten OUA nationally ranked teams, the No. 2 York Lions got the better of the Guelph Gryphons men's soccer squad with a final score of 4-1 on Saturday at York Stadium. The Gryphons fall to 6-2-3 on the season while the OUA West leading Lions move to 11-0-1.
The game started brightly with both teams seeking to gain control of possession. York's early chances were all wide, but the Lions managed to break the deadlock on 11 minutes when the Guelph defence was unable to deal with a cross to the back post, which was well-finished by the York winger. Guelph's response was excellent and very timely, as Gryphon winger Tim Flynn (Scarborough, Ont.) took hold of a great cross-field pass from Mike Bijman (Brantford, Ont.) only two minutes after the York goal and though Flynn's first shot was saved, he did well to put away the rebound, tying the game.
The game opened up then with both teams creating good scoring chances; unfortunately for the Gryphons, the game's next goal was scored by York, who put away a corner kick in the 26th minute. Guelph almost evened the score at 2-2 in the 34th minute when Flynn, who was the creator of five chances in the first half, had his free kick crash off the York crossbar. The teams went into half with York leading 2-1.
Unfortunately, the second half was nothing like the first for the Gryphons, with York dominating possession and Guelph struggling to string together more than a few passes in a row, and no clear chances created by an ineffective attack. York effectively put the game away in the 61st minute, again off a corner kick and added insurance in the 80th minute, making the final score 4-1 to last year's OUA West Champions.
Gryphon goalkeeper Ben Caranci (Brantford, Ont.) despite the loss was excellent in his ability to close down attackers in his box and did well to make four saves and five claims in the game.
The Gryphons' next game is October 10th against the Algoma Thunderbirds at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.
