On paper it was a David vs. Goliath matchup. On paper. Fortunately for the Warriors, the game is played on the field and the black and gold did more than just play, they competed and put together a complete 90 minutes of soccer on Saturday afternoon in Toronto as they ousted the No. 1 team in the country, York by a score of 3-1 to punch their ticket to the OUA semifinals.
After a scoreless opening half, the Lions found the games opening goal on a PK as Joey Mac put his home side up 1-0 in the 57th minute. The never-say-die Warriors went to work after that and responded just four minutes later as the reigning OUA west rookie of the year,
Matheus Mello (Toronto/) made it a 1-1 game in the 63rd minute.Â
What looked like a game destined for extra time, Waterloo had other ideas and off a set piece in the 80th minutes, with a corner kick the Warriors took a 2-1 lead as
Will Ratelband (Brantford/)Â finished off a goal mouth scramble in front of the Lions net.
York had a couple of chances to equalize the game but it was the always offensive minded
Sebastian Guerrieri (Oakville/) who put this match away in the 83rd minute with a beautiful shot from just outside the box to secure the 3-1 win for the Warriors. In net it was
Simon Grande (Hamilton/) earning the win.
"To come out with a performance like that against a very very good team like York just shows where our program is at the moment," said head coach
Mark Worton. "We have a lot of solid veterans and some really good young players coming through and this is huge for our program. Hopefully it doesn't end here."
Waterloo will look to keep their magical post-season run going on Wednesday night against the TMU Bold where they hope to avenge last seasons playoff loss.Â
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