Season ends with 1-0 national championship win

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York University is basking in soccer glory, not that there's many people left on campus to join in the celebrations.

On Sunday, the York Lions men's soccer team won its second-ever national title in Ottawa with a 1-0 win in the championship game over Trinity Western Spartans from Langley, British Columbia.

A few days earlier, it also scooped both the male and female national player of the year awards, which went to Francesco Bruno and Stefania Morra, respectively.

It is the only the second time the same university has scooped both awards in the same year.

Both awards are also firsts for York U.

Both players have stron local ties.

Bruno is a North York resident who graduated from Dante Alighieri Academy; Morra is a Scarborough resident who graduated from Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School.

The win by the men's team marked the first national soccer title for York since 1977 and the first national title in any sport since 1990 (when the York women's track and field team won the national title).

Bruno, who made the championship tournament all-star team, set up Sunday's lone goal with an inside-the-box pass to fourth-year midfielder David Nogaro from Richmond Hill who calmly sent the ball past the diving goalkeeper in the top right corner of the net.

York won its semifinal 1-0 over the University of Montreal and its quarterfinal 3-0 over the University of Victoria.

Bruno tied for second in the nation in scoring during the regular season with 10 goals in 14 games, including three game-winning markers.

His brilliant play helped York finish first in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) west division for a second straight year with a 9-4-1 record.

The 5-foot-10, 165-pound junior added two goals in a quarter-final victory over Brock and guided the Lions to the OUA final and a berth in the CIS championship for the second season in a row.

For the second consecutive year, he was a first-team OUA West all-star and found a place on the first all-Canadian squad.

A business and society student, Bruno was a member of Team Canada at the FIFA under-20 world championship in 2003.

"Francesco is one of the most complete players we have in this country. He can defend, he can pass, he can dribble and he can score," said York head coach Carmine Isacco. "When you combine all of his ability with a ton of integrity, without question he is deserving of the player of the year award."

The women's team, meanwhile, finished atop the its division with a 9-2-3 record but were eliminated in their first post season game 1-0 by fourth-place Brock (7-3-4).

Morra, meanwhile, is only the second player to claim both national rookie and player of the year trophies and the only one to win them in successive years.

The 21-year-old, five-foot-five striker again led the country in goals with 18 in 14 regular season games, accomplishing the same feat last season with 19 goals in 14 games.

"Last year Stefania had an outstanding season. This year she has been truly magnificent," said York head coach Paul James, in a release.

"With such a young team we needed her to step up and to provide great leadership and she's done that.

"Scoring 18 goals is a testament to her ability at this level. When you consider that she competed as a central midfield player for the majority of the season, it magnifies her ability."

Morra, who played for the Toronto Lady Lynx as well as club soccer for the North York Panthers, also starred in basketball for Mary Ward, earning team-MVP honours on two occasions.