TORONTO - The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s soccer team defeated the host York Lions 1-0 in a shootout on Sunday evening (Nov. 7) to win their first OUA title since 2002 at York Stadium.

Toronto and York, who finished first in the OUA East and West divisions, respectively, were evenly matched throughout the game and a shootout was a fitting end.

Kicking the winning shot for the Varsity Blues was Darragh McGee of Donegal, Ireland in the sixth round. Blues goalkeeper and player of the match John Smits of Mississauga, Ont. then stepped up and made a huge save on a shot by Carlos Noguiera (Brampton, Ont.) for the win.

Possession was even in the first half as both the Lions and Varsity Blues had multiple scoring chances, but for the most part were shut down by each other before either team could get close to the net.

The two teams had four corners apiece in the first half but none proved to be very dangerous.

The Lions had the best chance in the 37th minute. Selvin Lammie of Toronto went into the box alone but was hauled down by McGee, who received a yellow card on the play, and the Lions were awarded a penalty kick. Striker Adrian Pena (Woodbridge, Ont.) took the shot and fired it to the right of Smits, who dove to his side to come up with a huge save at the goal line.

The game played out in similar fashion in the second half and into overtime. Toronto and York traded opportunities but could not find the back of the net, and it wasn’t until the shootout when action really picked up.

Toronto’s Yannis Gianniotis (Toronto) made good on the first shot, but York’s Branko Majstorovic (Mississauga, Ont.) bounced his shot off the post to give the Varsity Blues the early lead. However, the Lions got back into it right away when Sotiri Varlokostas (Toronto) made a great save on Geoffrey Borgmann (Mississauga, Ont.).

Alon Badat (Thornhill, Ont.), Dominic Antonini (Winnipeg) and Daniel Fabrizi (Brampton, Ont.) all made good on their attempts for the Lions, while Ezequiel Lubocki (Winnipeg) and Alex Raphael (East York, Ont.) responded for the Varsity Blues. However, Nordo Gooden of Kingston, Jamaica fired his shot over the net, which gave Pena the opportunity to win it in the fifth round. He stepped up to the spot and tapped a shot into the corner but Smits was there to make yet another game-saving stop.

Toronto, York and Western all advance to the 2010 CIS championship, November 11-14, hosted by the University of Toronto at Varsity Centre.