Banner Season: Championship mainstays and newcomers face off in men’s soccer finale

Burlington, Ont. – One program boasts several years of experience on the championship stage, while the other is making their debut in the OUA finale, but both the York Lions and Ontario Tech Ridgebacks will have their sights set on hoisting the Blackwood Cup to cap off their 2024 conference campaign.

For the newcomers to the OUA Men’s Soccer Championship, it has been a thrilling postseason push, having entered as the fourth seed from the East Division.

An offensive masterclass anchored their efforts in the first two rounds, powering past the Lakers by a 4-1 margin, before upsetting the division’s top-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues 5-2. Those lopsided triumphs led them to a semifinal clash with McMaster, and while it was a very different count on the scoreboard, the result remained consistent.

Going scoreless into penalty kicks, it was a quartet of Ontario Tech players converting on four consecutive chances, while all-star goalkeeper Kevon Grant turned aside a pair of Marauders to cap off the thrilling victory and earn them the chance to play for their first Blackwood Cup.

York, meanwhile, will be eyeing their eighth men’s soccer title, needing to reel off back-to-back nailbiters to earn that chance.

Following an opening round bye, the defending finalists were taken to penalties against Guelph after a scoreless run through regulation and extra time. After seven straight shooters found the back of the net, Alessio Carbone finally turned aside his opposition from the Gryphons. Matthew Medeiros then had a chance to win it for York and he made no mistake from the spot.

The tense moments continued into the semifinal as the championship hosts once again needed more than 90 minutes to secure the win. Rookie of the year Luca Accettola helped his side snag the early lead with a sixth-minute tally, but just under a minute later, the TMU Bold struck back. From there, it was scoreless until extra time, and in the opening seconds of the first additional session, the Lions took the lead back for good thanks to Matthew Fischer.

York’s thrilling quest for the cup was prefaced by a regular season that featured an 8-1-3 mark – good for top spot in the West Division – and much of that success was due to standouts offensively and defensively.

West Division most valuable player Christian Zeppieri was the Lions’ leading scorer for a second consecutive season since joining the red and white, finishing with nine goals (third most in the country). He does much more than put the ball in the net; however, as he is also one of the conference’s premier passers. The second-year midfielder from Maple, Ont. paced the provincial pack with eight assists, and backed by his co-leading 17 points, Zeppieri was held pointless on just two occasions this season.

While the Lions will rely on their award winner up front, along with fellow all-stars Accettola and Yigal Bruk, they will turn to the capable Carbone between the pipes.

A constant for York in net, the Oakland University transfer has been among the best keepers in the conference this season. He finished off with top-five marks in save percentage (.806; 3rd in OUA) and goals against (7; T4th in OUA), while his 0.64 goals-against average earned top billing in the OUA.

Much like their championship counterparts, the Ridgebacks’ standouts also include an MVP, a quartet of OUA first-teamers, and an all-star goalkeeper.

Coming over from the Cape Breton Capers and backed by further experience in the Canadian Premier League (CPL), Kairo Coore came as advertised for the Oshawa squad, who finished fourth in the East (6-4-2). He led the team and conference with 11 goals in the regular season, highlighted by his hat trick against Trent. His scoring touch was consistently on display for the Ridgebacks, as the former FC Edmonton draftee in the CPL-U SPORTS draft found the back of the net in seven of the 10 games in which he played.

Team captain and fellow all-star Alexander Irwin, who netted four regular season goals from the centre back position before matching that tally in two playoff games, will be another key cog for the Ridgebacks on the big stage. The same goes for midfielder Jack Sears and fellow first-team standout Grant, who makes up the other half of the game’s all-star goalkeeper matchup.

With their four all-stars at the forefront, the Ridgebacks, hosts of the upcoming U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship, will have a chance to add to their program’s historic 2024 campaign. Having already gone beyond just their host berth to clinch their spot on the national stage the old-fashioned way, there is just one more feat left to accomplish on their conference checklist.

That final feat has been checked off on multiple occasions for the Lions, most recently in 2018, but even with appearances in 10 of the last 11 OUA finals, the taste of victory would feel just as sweet for York on their home field. And an identical four first-team selections for the Lions will be ready and waiting to add to their perennial program success on Saturday.

Despite their differences, the similarities set up what should be an entertaining men’s soccer finale. Both teams are battle-tested and have brought their best when it has mattered most this season, but only one squad – either the banner season mainstays or championship newcomers – will be able to bring home a Blackwood Cup when the final whistle blows and the celebrations begin.